LA Times Crossword 6 Mar 23, Monday

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Constructed by: Rebecca Goldstein
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Skate Park

Themed answers each end with something seen at a SKATE PARK:

  • 66A Olympic arena that features the ends of 17-, 25-, 41-, and 52-Across : SKATE PARK
  • 17A Commuter option : LIGHT RAIL
  • 25A Hawaiian dish with skipjack tuna : POKE BOWL
  • 41A Dumped unceremoniously : KICKED TO THE CURB
  • 52A Cloverleaf segment : EXIT RAMP

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

Bill’s time: 6m 18s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Nile reptile : ASP

The asp is a small to medium-sized snake, typically growing to between 18 and 30 inches in length. It has a distinctive triangular head and a dark, zigzag pattern along its back.

4 Woodworking tool : RASP

A rasp is like a coarse version of a file. Files have teeth that run from one side of the tool to the other, and are usually used for metalwork. Rasps have coarser teeth that cover the surface of the tool like jagged bumps. Rasps are usually used in woodworking.

13 “Knock, knock” response starter : WHO’S …

Knock, knock!
Who’s there?
Banana.
Banana who?
Knock knock
Who’s there?
Banana.
Banana who?
Knock knock
Who’s there?
Orange.
Orange who?
Orange you glad I didn’t say banana?

15 Crooner Paul : ANKA

Canadian-born Paul Anka’s big hit was in 1957, the song entitled “Diana”. Another oft-heard Anka composition started out life as his 1959 composition “Toot Sweet”. He rearranged “Toot Sweet” and renamed it as “Johnny’s Theme”, the jazz instrumental played as the opening theme of “The Tonight Show Starry Johnny Carson”.

17 Commuter option : LIGHT RAIL

Our verb “to commute”, meaning “to go back and forth to work”, ultimately derives from the Latin “commutare”, meaning “to often change”. Back in the late 1800s, a “commutation ticket” was a season pass, so named because it allowed one to “change” one kind of payment into another. Quite interesting …

25 Hawaiian dish with skipjack tuna : POKE BOWL

Poke is a Native-Hawaiian dish featuring diced raw fish. “Poke” is a Hawaiian word meaning “to slice”.

27 “Good Will Hunting” univ. : MIT

“Good Will Hunting” was the movie that gave both Matt Damon and Ben Affleck their big break in films, and deservedly so. Affleck and Damon are actually distant cousins who lived two blocks from each other in Cambridge, Massachusetts where the pair spent their teen years. The two friends wrote the film’s screenplay and of course took starring roles, alongside Robin Williams and Minnie Driver. Affleck and Damon won an Academy Award for the screenplay. What a great success story, eh?

29 Ahmed of “The Night Of” : RIZ

British actor and rapper Riz Ahmed released a 2020 studio album called “The Long Goodbye”. He accompanied it with a short film of the same name, which won the Best Live Action Short Film Oscar in 2022.

“The Night Of” is an HBO crime miniseries that is based on a British show called “Criminal Justice”. The intention was that James Gandolfini would play the leading role, but after the actor’s passing in 2013, a replacement had to be found. The role eventually went to John Turturro, but Gandolfini is given a posthumous executive producer credit.

32 “Time’s Arrow” novelist Martin : AMIS

“Time’s Arrow: or The Nature of the Offence” is a 1991 novel by English author Martin Amis. It is an account of the life of a German Holocaust doctor. Interestingly, the story is told in reverse chronology, starting with his life in America in retirement.

37 Mandarin greeting : NI HAO

One might say “ni hao” in Chinese to mean “hello”, although a more literal translation is “you good”.

Mandarin Chinese is a group of dialects that are spoken across northern and southwestern China. If Mandarin is considered as one language, then it has more native speakers than any other language on the planet.

41 Dumped unceremoniously : KICKED TO THE CURB

“Curb” is another of those words that I had to learn when I came to the US. We park by the “kerb” on the other side of the Atlantic. Oh, and the “pavement”, that’s what we call the “footpath” (because the footpath is “paved”!). It’s very confusing when you arrive in this country from Ireland, and a little dangerous, when one has been taught to “walk on the pavement” …

45 Potatoes, in South Asian cuisine : ALOO

In South Asian dishes, “aloo” is a term meaning “potatoes”.

46 “Twittering Machine” artist Paul : KLEE

“Twittering Machine” is a watercolor-and-ink drawing by Swiss-German artist Paul Klee. It depicts some birds on a wire, which is in turn connected to a hand-crank making a “twittering machine”. You can see the work in New York’s Museum of Modern Art, where it is regarded as one of the museum’s best-known and treasured pieces.

49 TD’s six : PTS

In football, a touchdown (TD) is worth six points (pts.)

51 Mary __ cosmetics : KAY

Mary Kay Ash founded her skincare and cosmetics company, somewhat ominously, on Friday, 13th September 1963. In 1968, she bought herself a pink Cadillac, specially painted to match the color of one of her compacts. The car became so famous that she gave away five of them to her top saleswoman, a tradition that endures to this day.

52 Cloverleaf segment : EXIT RAMP

Cloverleaf interchanges allow two highways to cross without the need for stopping traffic. They are so called as when viewed overheard they look like the leaves of a four-leaf clover.

57 Rx writers : DOCS

There seems to be some uncertainty about the origin of the symbol “Rx” that’s used for a medical prescription. One explanation is that it comes from the astrological sign for Jupiter, a symbol put on prescriptions in days of old to invoke Jupiter’s blessing to help a patient recover.

60 Woodwind for Elaine Douvas : OBOE

Elaine Douvas is a renowned oboist who became the principal oboist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in New York City way back in 1977.

70 Sparkling wine region : ASTI

Asti is a beautiful historic city located in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy. As well as being famous for its sparkling wines, Asti is home to one of the oldest and most famous Palio horse races in Italy. The Palio di Asti takes place every September and is a fiercely contested race between ten horseback riders representing different districts of the city.

71 Makes out, in Manchester : SNOGS

“Snogging” is British slang of unknown origin that dates back to the end of WWII. The term is used for “kissing and cuddling”, what we call “making out” over here in the US.

Manchester is a vibrant city in the northwest of England known for its industrial heritage. It played a significant role in the Industrial Revolution and was once known as the “Cottonopolis” due to its cotton mills and textile industry.

73 QVC alternative : HSN

The Home Shopping Network (HSN) was the first national shopping network, and was launched locally as the Home Shopping Club in Florida in 1982. Its first product was a can opener.

Down

1 Puncturing tools : AWLS

An awl is a pointed tool used for marking a surface or for piercing small holes. The earliest awls were used to pierce ears, apparently. The tool then became very much associated with shoemakers.

2 Model in a bottle : SHIP

The tradition of creating ships in bottles has its roots in the 18th century, when sailors would create them as a way to pass the time during long voyages. The standard technique for construction involves building the ship outside of the bottle, using tools such as hooks and wires to maneuver the ship into the bottle, and then carefully arranging the rigging and sails once it’s inside.

3 Toy with a handlebar and a big spring : POGO STICK

What we know today as a pogo stick was invented in Germany by Max Pohlig and Ernst Gottschall. The name “pogo” comes from the first two letters in each of the inventors’ family names: Po-hlig and Go-ttschall. The highest jump on a pogo stick was achieved by Fred Grzybowski in 2010. He jumped over three cars and reached a height of 9 feet, 6 inches.

5 Political commentator Navarro : ANA

Ana Navarro is a Nicaraguan-born, American political strategist and commentator. Navarro is a lifelong Republican who worked for Governor Jeb Bush and for Senator John McCain. However, she was very critical of presidential candidate Donald Trump during his 2016 campaign. She was so vehement in her anti-Trump views that she ended up voting for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the election.

7 Hunter-gatherer diet : PALEO

The paleolithic (or “paleo, caveman”) diet is a fad diet that became popular in the 2000s. The idea is to eat wild plants and animals that would have been available to humans during the Paleolithic era (roughly the Stone Age). This period precedes the introduction of agriculture and the domestication of animals. As a result, someone on the diet avoids consuming grains, legumes, dairy and processed foods. The diet consists mainly of lean meat (about 45-65% of the total calorie intake), non-starchy vegetables, fruits, berries and nuts.

9 Carmex target : LIP

Carmex is a popular brand of lip balm that was first created in the 1930s by Alfred Woelbing, a pharmacist from Wisconsin. Woelbing initially made the balm in small batches in his kitchen and sold it to local drugstores.

10 Buddy in Barcelona : AMIGO

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain, after the capital Madrid. It is also the largest European city that sits on the Mediterranean coast, and the capital city of the autonomous community of Catalonia.

11 Muscular power : SINEW

“Sinew” is another name for “tendon”. Tendons are bands of collagen that connect muscle to bone. Tendons are similar to ligaments and fasciae, which are also connective tissue made out of collagen, but ligaments join bone to bone, and fasciae connect muscle to muscle. We also use the term “sinew” to mean muscular power.

12 Stainless __ : STEEL

In order to resist the tendency to rust, stainless steel (as opposed to carbon steel) has about 11% chromium. Stainless steel does in fact tend to rust, but just not as easily as regular carbon steel. This is because the chromium in the steel reacts with oxygen in the air to form a thin, invisible layer of chromium oxide on the surface of the steel. This layer, also known as the passive layer, acts as a barrier to prevent further oxidation and corrosion of the underlying steel.

18 Figure in Russian history : TSAR

Imperial Russia was a period of Russian history that lasted from 1721 to 1917, when Russia was ruled by a series of Emperors known as tsars. The Russian Empire was officially claimed by Emperor Peter I, known as Peter the Great, after the defeat of the Swedish Empire and the end of the Great Northern War. The tsars lost their power when the Bolsheviks executed Tsar Nicholas II and his family in 1918 during the Russian Civil War. When the war ended in 1923, the Bolsheviks established the Soviet Union, which covered most of the territory occupied by the Russian Empire.

22 Chicago WNBA team : SKY

The Chicago Sky are a WNBA basketball team who play home games at Wintrust Arena, located in the South Loop neighborhood of Chicago. The Sky were founded in 2006, and the team’s mascot is a Sky Guy, a blue and yellow bird with a basketball for a head.

26 Lincoln competitor : BUICK

David Dunbar Buick was an inventor working in Detroit, Michigan who founded the Buick Motor Company in 1903. Buick sold his interest in Buick Motors just three years later. He passed away in 1929, practically penniless. Still, over 30 million vehicles have been built that bore the Buick name.

27 Shark name that comes from Maori : MAKO

The shortfin mako shark can appear on restaurant menus, and as a result the species is dying out in some parts of the world. The mako gets its own back sometimes though, as attacks on humans are not unknown. It is the fastest-swimming shark, and has been clocked at speeds of over 40 miles/hour. And the shark in Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea”, that’s a mako. “Mako” is the Maori word for “shark” or “shark tooth”.

30 Actress Catherine __-Jones : ZETA

Catherine Zeta-Jones is a movie actress from Swansea in Wales. Her earlier starring roles were in films such as “The Mask of Zorro” and “Entrapment”, followed by much-lauded performances in “Traffic” (2000) and “Chicago” (2002). Zeta-Jones is married to actor Michael Douglas who is exactly 25 years her senior (the pair share the same birthday).

33 Shooting sport : SKEET

Skeet shooting is one of three types of competitive shotgun target shooting sports, along with trap shooting and sporting clays. The word “skeet” comes from the Scandinavian word “skot,” which means “to shoot.”

35 Abbreviation on a TV remote : VOL

The first television remote control was introduced by Zenith Radio Corporation, in 1950. That remote was hard-wired to the TV, and was marketed as “Lazy Bones”. Personally, my first “remote” was a broomstick that I used by pushing in large mechanical buttons that selected each of the three channels that were available back then on the east coast of Ireland …

38 Angry shout from a green Avenger : HULK SMASH!

The comic book hero Hulk first made an appearance in 1962. Hulk is the alter ego of reserved and withdrawn physicist Bruce Banner. Banner transforms into the Hulk when he gets angry.

The Avengers are a team of superheroes in the Marvel Comics universe. The original lineup, which dates back to 1963, consisted of Ant-Man, Hulk, Iron Man, Thor and the Wasp. Soon after their formation, the Avengers rescued Captain America trapped in ice, and thereafter he joined the team. There is a 2012 movie called “The Avengers” that features Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk and Thor.

48 Scientist’s workplace : LAB

Our term “laboratory”, often shortened to “lab”, comes from the Medieval Latin word “laboratorium” meaning “place for labor, work”. This in turn comes from the Latin verb “laborare” meaning “to work”.

53 Noble gas whose name comes from the Greek for “strange” : XENON

The element xenon was the first of the noble gases to be made into a compound, which was somewhat remarkable in that the noble gases were thought by many to be completely inert, unreactive.

55 Overgrown, in a way : MOSSY

There is a traditionally-held belief that in the northern hemisphere there is a heavier growth of moss on the north-facing side of trees. The assumption is that the sun creates a drier environment on the south side of the tree, an environment that is less conducive to the growth of moss.

56 Black tea grade : PEKOE

A pekoe (or more commonly “orange pekoe”) is a medium-grade black tea. There is no orange flavor in an orange pekoe tea. The “orange” name most likely derived from the name of the trading company that brought the tea to Europe from Asia.

58 __ América: international football tournament : COPA

The Copa América is the oldest international soccer tournament in the world, having been first contested in 1916. The tournament was established for international teams from South America, as the South American Football Championship. In 1993, the name “Copa América” was adopted, and teams were invited from Central and North America, and the Caribbean.
.

63 Largest organ in the human body : SKIN

The skin is the largest organ in the human body by surface area. The largest organ by mass is the liver.

65 Brain scan letters : EEG

An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a record of electrical activity caused by the firing of neurons within the brain. The EEG might be used to diagnose epilepsy, or perhaps to determine if a patient is “brain dead”.

67 Reddit Q&A : AMA

Reddit.com is a networking and news website that started up in 2005. It is essentially a bulletin board system with posts that are voted up and down by users, which determines the ranking of posts. The name “Reddit” is a play on “read it”, as in “I read it on Reddit”. One popular feature of the Reddit site is an online forum that is similar to a press conference. Known as an AMA (for “ask me anything”), participants have included the likes of President Barack Obama, Madonna, Bill Gates, Stephen Colbert and Gordon Ramsay. President Obama’s AMA was so popular that the high level of traffic brought down many parts of the Reddit site.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Nile reptile : ASP
4 Woodworking tool : RASP
8 School year : CLASS
13 “Knock, knock” response starter : WHO’S …
15 Crooner Paul : ANKA
16 Put a cap on : LIMIT
17 Commuter option : LIGHT RAIL
19 State one’s views : OPINE
20 Union member? : SPOUSE
21 Total disorder : MESS
23 “__ whiz!” : GEE
24 Attempt : STAB
25 Hawaiian dish with skipjack tuna : POKE BOWL
27 “Good Will Hunting” univ. : MIT
29 Ahmed of “The Night Of” : RIZ
31 “If I were __ … ” : YOU
32 “Time’s Arrow” novelist Martin : AMIS
34 Guns, as an engine : REVS
37 Mandarin greeting : NI HAO
41 Dumped unceremoniously : KICKED TO THE CURB
44 Pitch perfect : ON KEY
45 Potatoes, in South Asian cuisine : ALOO
46 “Twittering Machine” artist Paul : KLEE
47 Snakelike fish : EEL
49 TD’s six : PTS
51 Mary __ cosmetics : KAY
52 Cloverleaf segment : EXIT RAMP
57 Rx writers : DOCS
59 Movie night room : DEN
60 Woodwind for Elaine Douvas : OBOE
61 Enticing scents : AROMAS
64 Spy collection : INTEL
66 Olympic arena that features the ends of 17-, 25-, 41-, and 52-Across : SKATE PARK
68 After-bath wrap : TOWEL
69 Not all : SOME
70 Sparkling wine region : ASTI
71 Makes out, in Manchester : SNOGS
72 Affirmative votes : YEAS
73 QVC alternative : HSN

Down

1 Puncturing tools : AWLS
2 Model in a bottle : SHIP
3 Toy with a handlebar and a big spring : POGO STICK
4 Unique person : RARE BIRD
5 Political commentator Navarro : ANA
6 Cut corners : SKIMP
7 Hunter-gatherer diet : PALEO
8 Reason to say “Whew!” : CLOSE ONE
9 Carmex target : LIP
10 Buddy in Barcelona : AMIGO
11 Muscular power : SINEW
12 Stainless __ : STEEL
14 Closed : SHUT
18 Figure in Russian history : TSAR
22 Chicago WNBA team : SKY
26 Lincoln competitor : BUICK
27 Shark name that comes from Maori : MAKO
28 “Let’s do it!” : I’M IN!
30 Actress Catherine __-Jones : ZETA
33 Shooting sport : SKEET
35 Abbreviation on a TV remote : VOL
36 Intersection sign : STOP
38 Angry shout from a green Avenger : HULK SMASH!
39 Locale : AREA
40 Follow orders : OBEY
42 Exasperated expressions : EYE ROLLS
43 Much-anticipated nights out : HOT DATES
48 Scientist’s workplace : LAB
50 Aching : SORE
52 Changes the narrative? : EDITS
53 Noble gas whose name comes from the Greek for “strange” : XENON
54 Split evenly : IN TWO
55 Overgrown, in a way : MOSSY
56 Black tea grade : PEKOE
58 __ América: international football tournament : COPA
62 __ and crafts : ARTS
63 Largest organ in the human body : SKIN
65 Brain scan letters : EEG
67 Reddit Q&A : AMA