LA Times Crossword 23 Apr 21, Friday

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Constructed by: Jeffrey Wechsler
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): Ossword

Themed answers are common phrases with CR- removed from the start:

  • 15A Judicious use of an Egyptian goddess? : ISIS MANAGEMENT (from “crisis management”)
  • 20A Source of some cruise ship beer? : AFT BREWERY (from “craft brewery”)
  • 35A With 40-Across, good advice for correcting a manuscript? : EDIT WHERE …
  • 40A See 35-Across : … EDIT IS DUE (from “credit where credit is due”)
  • 52A What a theater hopes its “Bus Stop” revival will be? : INGE-WORTHY (from “cringeworthy”)
  • 58A Audiophile’s flat, say? : AMPED APARTMENT (from “cramped apartment”)

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

Bill’s time: 6m 37s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Opening for recorded music : CD SLOT

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.

15 Judicious use of an Egyptian goddess? : ISIS MANAGEMENT (from “crisis management”)

Isis was the ancient Egyptian goddess of fertility, as well as the protector of the dead and the goddess of children. She was the personification of the pharaoh’s power. The name “Isis” translates as “throne”, and she is usually depicted with a headdress shaped like a throne.

18 Scott who played Danno on “Hawaii Five-0” : CAAN

Scott Caan is the actor who plays “Danno” in the remake of the cop show “Hawaii Five-0”. Scott is the son of Hollywood actor James Caan.

The cop show “Hawaii Five-O” originally ran from 1968 until 1980, with Jack Lord and James MacArthur playing detectives Steve McGarrett and “Danno” Williams. The famous theme music was composed by Morton Stevens. The show was rebooted as “Hawaii Five-0”, premiering in 2010, with Alex O’Loughlin and Scott Caan playing Steve McGarrett and “Danno” Williams. Notice the important difference in the titles of the two versions of the show: the former uses a capital letter O, and the latter the numeral 0. Now that’s trivial …

25 Caesar’s last gasp : 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.

29 Lover of Aphrodite : ARES

The Greek god Ares is often referred to as the Olympian god of warfare, but originally he was regarded as the god of bloodlust and slaughter. Ares united with Aphrodite to create several gods, including Phobos (Fear), Deimos (Terror) and Eros (Desire). Ares was the son of Zeus and Hera, and the Roman equivalent to Ares was Mars.

30 39.37 inches, in Ipswich : METRE

On the other side of the Atlantic we use the French spelling for measurements that originated in French, so “metre” for “meter” and “litre” for “liter”.

Ipswich is the county town of Suffolk in the south of England. Ipswich is an ancient town that owes much of its development to its proximity to the North Sea. It is located about 10 miles upriver from the coast. The Ipswich docks on the River Orwell have operated since the 7th century.

42 Some brass : TUBAS

The tuba is the lowest-pitched of all brass instruments, and one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra (usually there is just one tuba included in an orchestral line-up). “Tuba” is the Latin word for “trumpet, horn”. Oom-pah-pah …

43 Frisbees, e.g. : DISCS

The Frisbee concept started back in 1938 with a couple who had an upturned cake pan that they were tossing between each other on Santa Monica Beach in California. They were offered 25 cents for the pan on the spot, and as pans could be bought for 5 cents, the pair figured there was a living to be earned.

45 One on a regimen, perhaps : DIETER

Quite often, the terms “regime” and “regimen” seem to be used interchangeably. In contemporary usage, “regime” is applied more generally, and “regimen” more specifically. A “regimen” is a systematic approach that one might apply to something, to exercise or diet for example. The term “regime” can also be used in such contexts, but can have additional definitions, such as “government in power”. A form of government cannot be described as a “regimen”.

49 Mountain guide : SHERPA

In the Tibetan language, “Sherpa” means “eastern people” (sher = east, pa = people). Sherpas are an ethnic group from Nepal, but the name is also used for the local guides who assist mountaineers in the Himalayas, and particularly on Mount Everest.

51 Cornerstone word : ANNO

Anno (plural “anni”) is the Latin for “year”.

52 What a theater hopes its “Bus Stop” revival will be? : INGE-WORTHY (from “cringeworthy”)

Playwright William Inge had a run of success on Broadway in the early fifties. Inge’s most celebrated work of that time is the play “Picnic”, for which he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize. The original 1953 cast of “Picnic” included a young male actor making his debut on Broadway. His name was Paul Newman. Many of Inge’s works are set in the American heartland and so he became known as the “Playwright of the Midwest”.

“Bus Stop” is a marvelous play written by William Inge in 1955. The famous 1956 movie of the same name, starring Marilyn Monroe, is only very loosely based on the play.

57 Soffits are under them : EAVES

“Soffit” is an architectural term describing the underside of some feature in a building (perhaps a staircase or an overhang). The term is especially used for a lining attached to the interior curve of an arch.

65 Big 12 rival of the Longhorns : SOONERS

The University of Oklahoma was founded in 1890 in the city of Norman, as the Norman Territorial University. The school’s sports teams are called the “Sooners”, from the state of Oklahoma’s nickname.

The University of Texas at Austin was established back in 1883. UT Austin is known as one of the “Public Ivies”, a publicly-funded university at which a student can get an education comparable to that provided by the Ivy League. The school’s sports teams are known as the Texas Longhorns, named for the Longhorn cattle that is now the official “large animal” of the state of Texas.

67 Indications of humanity? : ERRORS

Alexander Pope’s 1709 poem “An Essay on Criticism” is the source of at least three well-known quotations:

  • A little learning is a dangerous thing; Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring.
  • To err is human, to forgive divine.
  • For fools rush in where angels fear to tread.

Down

1 Franchise whose opening themes are songs by The Who : CSI

The “CSI” TV show franchise uses hits from the Who as theme music:

  • “Who Are You” … “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”
  • “Baba O’Riley” … “CSI: New York”
  • “Won’t Get Fooled Again” … “CSI: Miami”
  • “I Can See for Miles” … “CSI: Cyber”

4 Guitarist Paul : LES

Les Paul was a guitarist, songwriter and inventor. When he was 33 years old, Paul was involved in a near-fatal car crash that left his right arm and elbow shattered. Surgeons offered him the choice of amputation or a rebuilding of the limb that would leave him unable to bend his elbow. He told them to set his arm at just under 90 degrees so that he could at least hold his guitar and perhaps play it.

5 Where Mark Watney was stranded for about 560 sols, in a 2015 film : ON MARS

“The Martian” is an intriguing 2015 science fiction film starring Matt Damon as an astronaut who is accidentally stranded on Mars. The movie is based on a 2011 novel of the same name by Andy Weir. One thing that I liked about the film is that the science cited is fairly realistic. In fact, NASA collaborated with the filmmakers extensively from script development to principal casting.

A solar day on Mars is referred to as a “sol” by astronomers. One sol is equivalent to just under 24 hours 40 minutes here on Earth.

6 Wonderland service : TEA SET

In Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”, the Mad Hatter makes his first appearance in a chapter called “A Mad Tea-Party”. This event is usually described as “The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party”, even though the Mad Hatter was just a guest. The host was the March Hare. In fact, the phrase “Mad Hatter” doesn’t appear anywhere in Lewis Carroll’s novel, although the character, the Hatter (and sometimes “Hatta”), is described as “mad”.

14 Kierkegaard, e.g. : DANE

Soren Kierkegaard was a Danish philosopher and theologian, and I’ve never really understood anything that he wrote!

19 Field role of early TV : NUN

“The Flying Nun” is a sitcom that originally ran in the late sixties and early seventies. It stars Sally Field as Sister Bertrille, a novice nun who weighs just 90 pounds and who uses her starched headwear (a cronette) to lift herself into the air and fly on the wind.

Actress Sally Field first came to the public’s attention in the sixties with title roles in the TV shows “Gidget” and “The Flying Nun”. She has two Best Actress Oscars; one for “Norma Rae” (1979) and one for “Places in the Heart” (1984).

21 Capacitance unit : FARAD

The SI unit of capacitance is the farad, a unit that is named after the physicist Michael Faraday.

22 Roman fountain : TREVI

The Trevi Fountain (“Fontana di Trevi”) is a huge fountain in Rome, one that is the largest constructed in the Baroque style. The tradition is that if one throws a coin in the fountain then one is guaranteed a return visit to the city. Tourists throw in an amazing 3,000 euros (over $4,000) every day. The money is collected and is used to stock a supermarket for the needy of the city.

24 Nomadic shelter : YURT

A yurt is a wood-framed dwelling that is used by nomads in the steppes of Central Asia. Although a yurt is a substantial structure, it is also extremely portable.

28 Mature eft : NEWT

Newts wouldn’t be my favorite animals. They are found all over the world living on land or in water depending on the species, but always associated with water even if it is only for breeding. Newts metamorphose through three distinct developmental stages during their lives. They start off as larvae in water, fertilized eggs that often cling to aquatic plants. The eggs hatch into tadpoles, the first developmental form of the newt. After living some months as tadpoles swimming around in the water, they undergo another metamorphosis, sprouting legs and replacing their external gills with lungs. At this juvenile stage they are known as efts, and leave the water to live on land. A more gradual transition takes place then, as the eft takes on the lizard-like appearance of the adult newt.

31 U.S. Cabinet-level dept. : EDUC

The largest government department in the cabinet is the Department of Defense (DOD), with a permanent staff of over 600,000. The smallest department, by far, is the Department of Education, with a mere four or five thousand employees.

37 “The Great Movies” series author : EBERT

“The Great Movies” is a series of four books published by film critic Roger Ebert. In those publications, Ebert lists 364 movies that he deemed “landmarks of the first century of cinema”.

38 Actor Fiennes : RALPH

English actor Ralph Fiennes comes from a very aristocratic family, as one might guess from his full name, Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes. He is in fact an eighth cousin of Charles, Prince of Wales, heir to the British throne. Fiennes has played some nasty characters in his time, including the commandant of the concentration camp in “Schindler’s List” and the dreaded Lord Voldemort in the “Harry Potter” movies.

39 One of ten in Baldwin’s “Notes of a Native Son” : ESSAY

“Notes of a Native Son” is a collection of essays by author and activist James Baldwin that were published in 1955. The series had previously appeared in magazines, and deals with issues of race in the US and Europe.

41 “Hey” assistant : SIRI

Siri is a software application that works with Apple’s iOS operating system. “Siri” is an acronym standing for Speech Interpretation and Recognition Interface. Voice-over artist Susan Bennett revealed herself as the female American voice of Siri a few years ago. The British version of Siri is called Daniel, and the Australian version is called Karen. Also, “Siri” is a Norwegian name meaning “beautiful woman who leads you to victory”, and was the name the developer had chosen for his first child.

45 Court figs. : DAS

District attorney (DA)

48 Lethargy : TORPOR

“Languor”, “lassitude”, “lethargy” and “listlessness” are such lovely words, all l-words meaning “lack of physical energy, torpor”.

55 Mendes of fashion : EVA

I am most familiar with actress Eva Mendes as the female lead in the movie “Hitch”, in which she played opposite Will Smith. Mendes started a relationship with fellow actor Ryan Gosling in 2011, and the couple have two children together.

59 Brian of Roxy Music : ENO

Roxy Music is a British band formed by Bryan Ferry, who also served as the lead singer. One of the group’s more famous former band members was Brian Eno, someone who turns up in crosswords far too often …

60 “__ Rosenkavalier” : DER

“Der Rosenkavalier” is a comic opera composed by Richard Strauss. The title translates as “The Knight of the Rose”.

61 CT scan relative : MRI

MRI scans can be daunting for many people as they usually involve the patient lying inside a tube with the imaging magnet surrounding the body. Additionally, the scan can take up to 40 minutes in some cases. There are some open MRI scanners available that help prevent a feeling of claustrophobia. However, the image produced by open scanners are of lower quality as they operate at lower magnetic fields.

64 NFL scores : TDS

In American football, one “goal” of a quarterback (QB) is to score touchdowns (TDs).

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Opening for recorded music : CD SLOT
7 Pass : ELAPSE
13 Placid : SERENE
14 Cheese-making sites : DAIRIES
15 Judicious use of an Egyptian goddess? : ISIS MANAGEMENT (from “crisis management”)
17 In concert : AS ONE
18 Scott who played Danno on “Hawaii Five-0” : CAAN
20 Source of some cruise ship beer? : AFT BREWERY (from “craft brewery”)
25 Caesar’s last gasp : ET TU?
26 Most exposed : BAREST
27 Like microbes, before microscopes : UNSEEN
29 Lover of Aphrodite : ARES
30 39.37 inches, in Ipswich : METRE
33 Really enjoy : SAVOR
35 With 40-Across, good advice for correcting a manuscript? : EDIT WHERE …
40 See 35-Across : … EDIT IS DUE (from “credit where credit is due”)
42 Some brass : TUBAS
43 Frisbees, e.g. : DISCS
44 Salon supply : GELS
45 One on a regimen, perhaps : DIETER
49 Mountain guide : SHERPA
51 Cornerstone word : ANNO
52 What a theater hopes its “Bus Stop” revival will be? : INGE-WORTHY (from “cringeworthy”)
56 Evidence of surgery : SCAR
57 Soffits are under them : EAVES
58 Audiophile’s flat, say? : AMPED APARTMENT (from “cramped apartment”)
65 Big 12 rival of the Longhorns : SOONERS
66 Knowledgeable (in) : VERSED
67 Indications of humanity? : ERRORS
68 Upper crust groups : ELITES

Down

1 Franchise whose opening themes are songs by The Who : CSI
2 Paris’ Rue __ Martyrs : DES
3 Indian honorific : SRI
4 Guitarist Paul : LES
5 Where Mark Watney was stranded for about 560 sols, in a 2015 film : ON MARS
6 Wonderland service : TEA SET
7 Raring to go : EAGER
8 Rest : LIE
9 Tentacle analog : ARM
10 Fragments : PIECES
11 Law group : SENATE
12 Passed-down property : ESTATE
14 Kierkegaard, e.g. : DANE
16 “Get on it!” : NOW!
19 Field role of early TV : NUN
20 Demean : ABASE
21 Capacitance unit : FARAD
22 Roman fountain : TREVI
23 Stupefy : BESOT
24 Nomadic shelter : YURT
28 Mature eft : NEWT
30 Just what the doctor ordered : MEDS
31 U.S. Cabinet-level dept. : EDUC
32 Family __ : TIES
34 Theme park offering : RIDE
36 More vast : HUGER
37 “The Great Movies” series author : EBERT
38 Actor Fiennes : RALPH
39 One of ten in Baldwin’s “Notes of a Native Son” : ESSAY
41 “Hey” assistant : SIRI
45 Court figs. : DAS
46 If : IN CASE
47 Captivate : ENAMOR
48 Lethargy : TORPOR
49 Sharp turn : SWERVE
50 Hiker’s stopover : HOSTEL
53 Gets closer to : NEARS
54 Openings : GAPS
55 Mendes of fashion : EVA
59 Brian of Roxy Music : ENO
60 “__ Rosenkavalier” : DER
61 CT scan relative : MRI
62 January Ga. hours : EST
63 Previously called : NEE
64 NFL scores : TDS