LA Times Crossword 4 Mar 20, Wednesday

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Constructed by: Kevin Salat
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Reveal Answer: Start from Scratch

Themed answers each START with the letters SCRATCH rearranged:

  • 66A Begin all over again … and what 18-, 33-, 43- and 50-Across all do (almost), as indicated by the circled letters : START FROM SCRATCH
  • 18A Collision simulation aids : CRASH TEST DUMMIES
  • 33A Extraordinary little one, in folklore : STAR CHILD
  • 43A Junk collector : TRASH CAN
  • 50A Place with drawing rooms : ART SCHOOL

Bill’s time: 6m 45s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

12 Pump product : GAS

The gas pump was actually around before there were cars on the road. The first gas pump was the invention of one Sylvanus Bowser from Fort Wayne, Indiana. His first pump was designed to pump kerosene for lamps and stoves, and was introduced in 1885. As automobiles became popular, he modified the design to pump gasoline. He introduced the Self-Measuring Gasoline Storage Pump in 1905. He marketed his devices all around the world, and in some parts the name “bowser” is still used sometimes to refer to fuel pumps, and indeed some fuel tankers.

20 Scapula neighbor, for short : DELT

The deltoid “muscle” is actually a group of muscles, the ones that cover the shoulder and create the roundness under the skin. The deltoids (delts) are triangular in shape resembling the Greek letter delta, hence the name.

The scapula is the shoulder blade. It is thought that the term comes from the Greek “skaptein” meaning “to dig”. The assumption is that the shoulder blade resembles a trowel or a small shovel, hence the name “scapula”.

21 Big name in nail polish : OPI

Opi is a manufacturer of nail polish based in North Hollywood, California. One of Opi’s marketing coups was the introduction of a line of Legally Blonde 2 polishes, which featured in the film.

23 Partnership letters : LLC

A limited liability company (LLC) has a structure that limits the liability of the owner or owners. It is a hybrid structure in the sense that it can be taxed as would an individual or partnership, while also maintaining the liability protection afforded to a corporation.

30 “Scary Movie” reaction : SCREAM

“Scary Movie” is one of those parody movies, and is a film released in 2000 that pokes fun at famous horror films. It was advertised with the tagline “No mercy. No shame. No sequel”. The “no sequel” reference was a parody in itself, making fun of the fact that slasher movies in particular were made into strings of sequels. But there was in fact to be a sequel to “Scary Movie”, in fact three of them with one more on the way. “Scary Movie 2” came out in 2001, with the tagline “We lied”.

33 Extraordinary little one, in folklore : STAR CHILD

In folklore, a starchild is young person believed to have fallen from the stars.

37 Poke tuna : AHI

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

38 Chocolate dog : LAB

The Labrador (Lab) breed of dog has been around at least since 1814. The breed comes in three registered colors: black, yellow and chocolate.

40 Nabisco cookie : OREO

If you take a close look at the embossed design on the front and back of an Oreo cookie, you’ll spot the main elements of the Nabisco logo. Those elements are an oval with a cross on top, a cross with two bars. Usually the company name “Nabisco” is inside the oval, but for the cookie it’s the brand name “Oreo”. The current embossed design was introduced in 1952.

49 Hong Kong lang. : ENG

Hong Kong first became part of the British Empire after the First Opium War in 1842. In 1898, Britain signed a 99-year lease to retain control of Hong Kong. That control ended 99 years later in 1997 with a formal transfer of sovereignty back to China.

57 Kobe cash : YEN

Kobe is a city on the island of Honshu in Japan. Here is North America, the city of Kobe is perhaps most famous for its beef. And yes, basketball star Kobe Bryant was named after that very same beef.

Kobe Bryant played basketball for the LA Lakers. Bryant got his given name from a menu, would you believe? His parents were in a Japanese restaurant and liked the name of “Kobe” beef, the beef from around the city of Kobe on the island of Honshu in Japan.

61 Duracell size : AAA

Duracell is a brand of batteries made today by Procter & Gamble. “Duracell” is a portmanteau of “durable” and “cell”.

66 Begin all over again … and what 18-, 33-, 43- and 50-Across all do (almost), as indicated by the circled letters : START FROM SCRATCH

Apparently the phrase “start from scratch” arose in the world of sports, probably in cricket or boxing. A line would be scratched into the ground to indicate a starting point.

73 Lady Gaga’s debut album : THE FAME

“Lady Gaga” is the stage name of Stefani Germanotta. Germanotta is a big fan of the band Queen, and she took her stage name from the marvelous Queen song titled “Radio Ga Ga”.

74 Squid’s defense : INK

Octopodes and squid have the ability to release dark pigment into the water as a means of escape. The dark pigment is called cephalopod ink (the squid and octopus belong to the class cephalopoda). The dark color is created by melanin, the same substance that acts as a pigment in human skin.

Down

1 How music can be stored : ON CD

The compact disc (CD) was developed jointly by Philips and Sony as a medium for storing and playing sound recordings. When the first commercial CD was introduced back in 1982, a CD’s storage capacity was far greater than the amount of data that could be stored on the hard drive of personal computers available at that time.

6 Golden rule preposition : UNTO

The Golden Rule is also known as the ethic of reciprocity, and is a basis for the concept of human rights. A version of the rule used in the Christian tradition is attributed to Jesus:

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

9 Med. condition with repetitive behavior : OCD

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

13 Out of the wind : ALEE

Alee is the direction away from the wind. If a sailor points into the wind, he or she is pointing aweather.

14 Part of CBS: Abbr. : SYST

CBS used to be known as the Columbia Broadcasting System. CBS introduced its “eye” logo in 1951. That logo is based on a Pennsylvania Dutch hex sign.

17 Barn-raising sect : AMISH

The Amish are members of a group of Christian churches, and a subgroup of the Mennonite churches. The Amish church originated in Switzerland and Alsace in 1693 when it was founded by Jakob Ammann. It was Ammann who gave the name to the Amish people. Many Amish people came to Pennsylvania in the 18th century.

24 Pasadena institute : CALTECH

Caltech is more properly known as the California Institute of Technology, and is a private research-oriented school in Pasadena. One of Caltech’s responsibilities is the management and operation of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. If you watch “The Big Bang Theory” on television like me, you might know that the four lead characters all work at Caltech.

26 Texter’s “Then again … ” : OTOH …

On the other hand (OTOH)

27 Bust maker : NARCO

“Narc” and “narco” are slang terms describing a law enforcement officer who tracks down criminals associated with illegal drugs. Both words are short for “narcotics officer”. Narcs might work for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

28 “Summer Nights” musical : GREASE

“Grease” was, and still is, a very successful stage musical with a blockbuster film version released in 1978. The movie stars John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. Travolta wasn’t the first choice for the lead role. It was first offered to Henry Winkler of “Happy Days” fame in which he played “the Fonz”. Winkler turned down the role for fear of being typecast as a leather-clad fifties “hood”.

30 Actress Hayek : SALMA

Salma Hayek is a Mexican actress. Hayek was the first Mexican national to be nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, earning that nomination with her portrayal of artist Frida Kahlo in the 2002 movie “Frida”.

32 First first lady : MARTHA

Rather then being called the “First Lady”, a term coined after she had passed away, Martha Washington was known in her lifetime as “Lady Washington”. Lady Washington was born Martha Dandridge, and was the oldest daughter of a Virginia planter. When she was 18 years old, Martha married Daniel Curtis, a wealthy planter who was 20 years her senior. Daniel died in 1757, leaving Martha a very wealthy widow. Two years later, when she was 27, she married 27-year-old George Washington. Martha had been living with Daniel on an estate known as “White House”, and indeed George and Martha married at “White House”.

35 Senseless : LOONY

Something described as loony is insane, crazy. “Loony” is short for “lunatic”, an adjective that is now considered offensive. The term arose in the late 1400s when it meant “affected with periodic insanity”, insanity attacks brought on by the cycles of the moon. “Lunatic” comes from the Latin “luna” meaning “moon”.

36 Khal __, Daenerys’ husband in HBO’s “Game of Thrones” : DROGO

HBO’s “Game of Thrones” is a fantasy television drama that is adapted from a series of novels by George R. R. Martin called “A Song of Ice and Fire”. “Game of Thrones” is actually filmed in and around Belfast, Northern Ireland. I recently binge-watched the show’s first seven seasons, and enjoyed it. There’s no doubt that the production value of “Game of Thrones” is remarkable, but to be honest, I never became riveted by the storyline …

39 Strips for breakfast : BACON

“Bacon” is an Old French word that we imported into English. The term ultimately comes from the Proto-Germanic “bakkon” meaning “back meat”.

51 Hybrid picnic utensil : SPORK

“Spork” is the more common name for the utensil that is a hybrid between a spoon and a fork. The same utensil is less commonly referred to as a “foon”.

52 Fertile soil : LOAM

Loam is soil made up of sand, silt and clay in the ratio of about 40-40-20. Relative to other soil types, loam is usually rich in nutrients and moisture, drains well and is easy to till. Loam can also be used in constructing houses as it is quite strong when mixed with straw and dried.

58 Sparkling Italian wine : ASTI

Asti is a sparkling white wine from the Piedmont region of Italy, and is named for the town of Asti around which the wine is produced. The wine used to be called Asti Spumante, and it had a very bad reputation as a “poor man’s champagne”. The “Spumante” was dropped in a marketing attempt at rebranding associated with a reduction in the amount of residual sugar in the wine.

67 Begin a hole, with “up” : TEE …

That would be golf.

68 Four-term prez : FDR

Since the days of President George Washington, there was an informal tradition that a US President could hold office for two terms, but would not run for a third. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the only president to break with this tradition. President Roosevelt was elected to office four times, and died a few months after starting his fourth term. It was President Roosevelt’s decision to ignore the term limit tradition that led to the adoption of the Twenty-Second Amendment of the Constitution, which provides that “no person shall be elected to the office of President more than twice”.

70 Musician Yoko : ONO

Yoko Ono was born in 1933 in Tokyo into a prosperous Japanese family, and is actually a descendant of one of the emperors of Japan. Yoko’s father moved around the world for work, and she lived the first few years of her life in San Francisco. The family returned to Japan, before moving on to New York, Hanoi and back to Japan just before WWII, in time to live through the great firebombing of Tokyo in 1945. Immediately after the war the family was far from prosperous. While Yoko’s father was being held in a prison camp in Vietnam, her mother had to resort to begging and bartering to feed her children. When her father was repatriated, life started to return to normal and Yoko was able to attend university. She was the first woman to be accepted into the philosophy program of Gakushuin University.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Foreboding : OMINOUS
8 Optimistic : ROSY
12 Pump product : GAS
15 “Give me an example” : NAME ONE
16 “The real story is … ” : ACTUALLY …
18 Collision simulation aids : CRASH TEST DUMMIES
20 Scapula neighbor, for short : DELT
21 Big name in nail polish : OPI
22 “Yeah, sure” : I BET
23 Partnership letters : LLC
25 Cleaning conveniences : SPONGES
30 “Scary Movie” reaction : SCREAM
33 Extraordinary little one, in folklore : STAR CHILD
37 Poke tuna : AHI
38 Chocolate dog : LAB
40 Nabisco cookie : OREO
41 Neither’s partner : NOR
42 Part of a relay : LEG
43 Junk collector : TRASH CAN
45 Overly : TOO
46 “So-so” : MEH
47 Mark for good : ETCH
48 Spanish bear : OSO
49 Hong Kong lang. : ENG
50 Place with drawing rooms : ART SCHOOL
53 Womb occupant : EMBRYO
55 Apparition : PHANTOM
57 Kobe cash : YEN
58 About : AS TO
61 Duracell size : AAA
63 Salty waters : SEAS
66 Begin all over again … and what 18-, 33-, 43- and 50-Across all do (almost), as indicated by the circled letters : START FROM SCRATCH
72 Ready for sleep : TUCKED IN
73 Lady Gaga’s debut album : THE FAME
74 Squid’s defense : INK
75 Therefore : ERGO
76 Left formally : SECEDED

Down

1 How music can be stored : ON CD
2 Farm female : MARE
3 “Don’t worry about me” : I’M ALL RIGHT
4 Settle snugly : NESTLE
5 Awed reaction : OOH!
6 Golden rule preposition : UNTO
7 Trickles (through) : SEEPS
8 Tell (on) : RAT
9 Med. condition with repetitive behavior : OCD
10 Man’s name that sounds like a slow-cooked dish : STU
11 “Delicious!” : YUM!
12 Smooth-talking : GLIB
13 Out of the wind : ALEE
14 Part of CBS: Abbr. : SYST
17 Barn-raising sect : AMISH
19 Drinks a bit at a time : SIPS
24 Pasadena institute : CALTECH
26 Texter’s “Then again … ” : OTOH …
27 Bust maker : NARCO
28 “Summer Nights” musical : GREASE
29 Political bragging point, when it’s thriving : ECONOMY
30 Actress Hayek : SALMA
31 Joyful shout : CHEER
32 First first lady : MARTHA
34 Online promo : INTERNET AD
35 Senseless : LOONY
36 Khal __, Daenerys’ husband in HBO’s “Game of Thrones” : DROGO
39 Strips for breakfast : BACON
44 Opportunity : SHOT
51 Hybrid picnic utensil : SPORK
52 Fertile soil : LOAM
54 “Take care of yourself” : BE SAFE
56 Mariner’s supports : MASTS
58 Sparkling Italian wine : ASTI
59 Knock for a loop : STUN
60 Wall map marker : TACK
62 Feel sore : ACHE
64 Apex : ACME
65 Spot for a mower : SHED
67 Begin a hole, with “up” : TEE …
68 Four-term prez : FDR
69 Oil field sight : RIG
70 Musician Yoko : ONO
71 __ center : REC