LA Times Crossword 4 Aug 22, Thursday

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Constructed by: David Tuffs
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Double or Nothing

Themed clues each have two answers. The first answer is in the grid as written, and the second is found by replacing the included DOUBLE letters with NOTHING:

  • 40A High-stakes gamble, and how the answers with circles can be read : DOUBLE OR NOTHING
  • 15A Part of the stock market cycle : BOTTOM (or BOOM)
  • 16A What lovers have : FEELINGS (or FLINGS)
  • 24A Artifacts in ancient tombs : COFFINS (or COINS)
  • 51A Come into flower : BLOSSOM (or BLOOM)
  • 66A Gave a dirty look : POLLUTED (or POUTED)
  • 68A Went out, as a bulb : DIMMED (or DIED)

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

Bill’s time: 7m 13s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

9 WNBA great Taurasi with five Olympic gold medals : DIANA

WNBA player Diana Diana Taurasi was the first pick in the 2004 draft, and signed up with the Phoenix Mercury. That first season, she won the league’s Rookie of the Year Award, the first of many, many awards in her career, including five Olympic gold medals.

14 Scrapbook contents : EPHEMERA

“Ephemera” was originally a medical term used to describe a fever that only lasted a day. The use of the term was expanded in the 17th century to include insects that were short-lived. By the end of the 18th century, ephemera were any items of transitory existence.

18 Protective lymphocyte : T CELL

T cells are a group of white blood cells that are essential components of the body’s immune system. T cells are so called because they mature in the thymus, a specialized organ found in the chest.

A lymphocyte is a white blood cell that serves an essential role in a mammalian immune system. They are the predominant type of cell found in the lymphatic system, hence the name “lymphocyte”. Lymphocytes produce antibodies that recognize and attack specific antigens found on a pathogen that has entered the body. Clever stuff …

19 __ buco : OSSO

“Osso” is the Italian word for bone, as in the name of the dish “osso buco” (bone with a hole), which features braised veal shanks.

22 Some whiskeys : RYES

For whiskey to be labeled as “rye” in the US, it has to be distilled from at least 51% rye grain. In Canada however, a drink called rye whiskey sometimes contains no rye at all.

27 Actor Daniel __ Kim : DAE

Daniel Dae Kim is an American actor who is famous for playing Jin-Soo Kwon on “Lost”. Kim moved on to play one of the leads on the CBS remake of “Hawaii Five-O”, portraying the character Chin Ho Kelly.

31 Store with Småland play areas : IKEA

IKEA provides play areas for children in its stores. Those areas are called “Småland”, which is the name of the historical province in southern Sweden where IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad was born and raised.

32 Fashion designer Gucci : ALDO

Gucci was founded in Rome, in 1921, by Guccio Gucci. Guccio’s son Aldo took over the company after his father’s death in 1953. It was Aldo who established the international presence for the brand and opened the company’s first overseas store, in New York City.

36 Peony support : STAKE

The flowering plant called a peony is named for Paean, the mythical physician to the Greek gods.

43 Photo app filter shade : SEPIA

Sepia is that rich, brown-gray color so common in old photographs. “Sepia” is the Latinized version of the Greek word for cuttlefish, as sepia pigment is derived from the ink sac of the cuttlefish. Sepia ink was commonly used for writing and drawing as far back as ancient Rome and ancient Greece. The “sepia tone” of old photographs is not the result of deterioration over time. Rather, it is the result of a deliberate preservation process which converts the metallic silver in the photographic image to a more stable silver sulfide. Prints that have been sepia-toned can last in excess of 150 years.

46 Forum robe : TOGA

In ancient Rome, the classical attire known as a toga (plural “togae” or “togas”) was usually worn over a tunic. The tunic was made from linen, and the toga itself was a piece of cloth about twenty feet long made from wool. The toga could only be worn by men, and only if those men were Roman citizens. The female equivalent of the toga was called a “stola”.

48 Old Rom. ruler : EMP

Ancient Rome went through three distinct periods. From 753 to 509 BC, Rome was a kingdom founded by the legendary Romulus. From 509 to 27 BC, Rome was a republic. The Roman Republic started with the overthrow of the last monarch Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. He was replaced by two elected consuls who were advised by a senate. The Republic evolved over time, but came to an end when Octavian expanded his power and declared himself “First Citizen”. Octavian effectively became Rome’s first emperor, and took the name “Caesar Augustus”. The “Fall of the Western Roman Empire” took place in the 5th century, formally ending in 476 CE when the last emperor Romulus Augustus was deposed. The Eastern Roman Empire survived as the Byzantine Empire, which was centered on Constantinople.

50 Night sch. student’s goal : GED

The General Educational Development (GED) tests are a battery of four tests designed to demonstrate that a student has the academic skills of someone who has graduated from an American or Canadian high school.

51 Come into flower : BLOSSOM (or BLOOM)

Blossoms are the flowers of a tree that bears stone fruit, e.g. cherries, peaches, apples and oranges. The blossoms provide pollen that is necessary for cross-pollination between individual trees.

54 Genesis twin : ESAU

Esau was the grandson of Abraham and the twin brother of Jacob, the founder of the Israelites. When Esau was born to Isaac and Rebekah, the event was described with “Now the first came forth, red all over like a hairy garment”. Esau is portrayed later in life as being very different from his brother Jacob, as a hunter and someone who loves the outdoor life.

56 Court stat : REB

Rebounds (reb.)

57 Court setting : BAIL

In most states in the US, it is legal for a bail bond agent to post bail for someone facing trial. Bail bond agencies are commercially driven enterprises, and are peculiar to the United States. In the rest of the developed world, posting a defendant’s bond for profit is considered illegal.

60 “Mi casa es su casa” speaker : AMIGO

The Spanish phrases “Mi casa es tu casa” and “Mi casa es su casa” are expressions of welcome translating as “My house is your house”. The former is more informal than the latter.

63 Woman of mystery : AGATHA

Agatha Christie (née Miller) was the best-selling novelist of all time, having sold about 4 billion copies worldwide in total. The only books to have sold in higher volume are the works of William Shakespeare and the Bible.

69 Water, facetiously : ADAM’S ALE

I suppose water was all that Adam had available to him to drink in the Garden of Eden, and so that’s how the expression “Adam’s ale” arose (I am guessing … can’t find anything definitive anywhere). The phrase “Adam’s ale” makes a nice juxtaposition with “the demon drink” (alcohol)!

71 Patisserie array : DESSERTS

A patisserie is a French bakery that sells pastries, or “tartes”.

Down

2 Well-financed gp.? : OPEC

The OPEC cartel was formally established in 1960 and has been headquartered in Vienna since 1965. The US is actually the third largest oil producer in the world (after Russia and Saudi Arabia). One reason America isn’t in OPEC, even though we are a big producer, is that we import a lot more than we export. But we all probably knew that already …

3 Helped out of a funk : CHEERED UP

Funk is ill humor. The term “funk” dates back to the mid-1700s, and probably came from Scottish and northern English.

4 Singer Clarkson : KELLY

Kelly Clarkson was the first winner of “American Idol”. She has done pretty well since then, I hear …

5 Close parentheses, at times : SMILES

The Smiley Company is a brand licensing enterprise that was founded in France, and is now based in London. The company was founded largely to manage licensing of the smiley ideogram that was trademarked by French journalist Franklin Loufrani in 1971. That “smiley face” has been licensed to countless companies around the world. Famously, Walmart opposed the registration of the Smiley Company’s design in the US, claiming that it might be confused with a design already used by Walmart. Walmart and the Smiley Company settled out of court in 2011.

9 Female koala : DOE

The koala bear really does look like a little bear, but it’s not even closely related. The koala is an arboreal marsupial and a herbivore, native to the east and south coasts of Australia. Koalas aren’t primates, and are one of the few mammals other than primates who have fingerprints. In fact, it can be very difficult to tell human fingerprints from koala fingerprints, even under an electron microscope. Male koalas are called “bucks”, females are “does”, and young koalas are “joeys”. I’m a little jealous of the koala, as it sleeps up to 20 hours a day …

10 Site of many errant apostrophes : ITS

The word “it’s” is a contraction for “it is”, as in “it’s a fun crossword”. The spelling “its”, without an apostrophe, is used in all other cases, most commonly as the possessive form of the pronoun “it”. In that sense, “its” is akin to the pronouns his, hers, ours, etc., as in “the newspaper is known for its great crosswords”.

11 Pitfall! platform : ATARI

“Pitfall!” Is a video game that Atari released way back in 1982. Star of the game is Pitfall Harry.

12 Director of a Batman film trilogy : NOLAN

British director Christopher Nolan is best known for “rescuing” the floundering Batman movie franchise. In that series, Nolan directed “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight”. He was also at the helm of a couple of sci-fi movies that I really enjoyed, namely “Inception” (2010) and “Interstellar” (2014).

13 Chorus of agreement : AMENS

The word “amen” translates as “so be it”. “Amen” is said to be of Hebrew origin, but it is also likely to be influenced by Aramaic and Arabic.

20 “The poetry of reality,” per Richard Dawkins : SCIENCE

Richard Dawkins is an evolutionary biologist and Oxford professor, and a very articulate and outspoken atheist. Dawkins is also a vocal critic of creationism.

25 End of Oktober? : -FEST

Oktoberfest is a 16-day beer festival in Munich that actually starts in September. About six million people attend every year, making it the largest fair in the world. I’ve attended twice, and it really is a remarkable party …

26 Jazz great Earl “__” Hines : FATHA

Earl “Fatha” Hines is considered one of the greats in the history of jazz. Hines played his piano twice at the White House, and once even played solo for the Pope.

27 Root beer brand since 1937 : DAD’S

Dad’s root beer was developed by Ely Klapman and Barney Berns in 1937, and was given the name “Dad’s” in honor of Klapman’s father who used to make root beer for his family at home.

30 Shoebox project : DIORAMA

A diorama is a full-scale or small-scale replica of a scene. We mostly see full-size dioramas in museums, whereas our kids might create small-scale dioramas as homework projects. The original diorama was a picture-viewing device that was invented in 1822 by Louis Daguerre and Charles Marie Bouton. These historic dioramas were quite large, and featured scenes that appeared to change as the lighting was manipulated.

33 Memorial bios : OBITS

Our word “obituary” comes from the Latin “obituaris”. The Latin term was used for “record of the death of a person”, although the literal meaning is “pertaining to death”.

35 __ Lanka : SRI

The island nation of Sri Lanka lies off the southeast coast of India. The name “Sri Lanka” translates from Sanskrit into English as “venerable island”. Before 1970, Sri Lanka was known as Ceylon, a name given to the country during British rule.

37 Instrument that never needs tuning? : AIR GUITAR

The concept of playing an imaginary electric guitar ( an “air guitar”) is so popular that there are several championship competitions held. There has even been a world championship since 1996. Crazy …

38 Jeans patch site : KNEE

Denim fabric originated in Nîmes in France. The French phrase “de Nîmes” (meaning “from Nîmes”) gives us the word “denim”. Also, the French phrase “bleu de Genes” (meaning “blue of Genoa”) gives us our word “jeans”.

41 Thailand neighbor : LAOS

The official name for the country of Laos is the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. In the Lao language, the country’s name is “Meuang Lao”. The French ruled Laos as part of French Indochina, having united three separate Lao kingdoms. As there was a plural of “Lao” entities united into one, the French added the “S” and so today we tend to use “Laos” instead of “Lao”.

49 Biblical book partly by King David : PSALMS

The Greek word “psalmoi” originally meant “songs sung to a harp”, and gave us the word “psalms”. In the Jewish and Western Christian traditions, the Book of Psalms contains 150 individual psalms, divided into five sections.

51 Little nails : BRADS

A brad is a slender wire nail with a relatively small head that is typically used to tack pieces of wood together, i.e. to fasten either temporarily or with minimal damage to the wood. Nowadays, brads are commonly applied using a nail gun.

53 Only U.S. president born in Hawaii : OBAMA

Despite rumors to the contrary, Barack Hussein Obama II was indeed born in Hawaii. Future US President Obama was born on August 4, 1961 at Kapi’olani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital in Honolulu.

58 FaceTime tablet : IPAD

FaceTime is an Apple video-telephony application. I guess it’s similar to Skype. Personally, I gave up on Skype and am now a loyal user of Google Duo …

59 Ore deposit : LODE

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.

61 Hanukkah moolah : GELT

“Gelt” is the Yiddish word for “money”.

62 Many Sharon Olds poems : ODES

Poet Sharon Olds won a Pulitzer Prize in Poetry in 2013. She was also the first American woman to win the T. S. Eliot Prize for Poetry.

64 Informal “You’re oversharing” : TMI

Too much information (TMI)

67 “Viva __ Vegas” : LAS

“Viva Las Vegas” is an Elvis Presley movie released in 1964 that is considered one of his best films. The good reception for the movie was at least in part due to the performance of the female lead, the talented actress Ann-Margret.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Rigid marching style : LOCKSTEP
9 WNBA great Taurasi with five Olympic gold medals : DIANA
14 Scrapbook contents : EPHEMERA
15 Part of the stock market cycle : BOTTOM (or BOOM)
16 What lovers have : FEELINGS (or FLINGS)
17 Thrift shop transaction : RESALE
18 Protective lymphocyte : T CELL
19 __ buco : OSSO
21 Sought office : RAN
22 Some whiskeys : RYES
24 Artifacts in ancient tombs : COFFINS (or COINS)
27 Actor Daniel __ Kim : DAE
29 Pitiful : SAD
31 Store with Småland play areas : IKEA
32 Fashion designer Gucci : ALDO
34 Shop clamp : VISE
36 Peony support : STAKE
40 High-stakes gamble, and how the answers with circles can be read : DOUBLE OR NOTHING
43 Photo app filter shade : SEPIA
44 Loaded : RICH
45 Pentagon measure : AREA
46 Forum robe : TOGA
48 Old Rom. ruler : EMP
50 Night sch. student’s goal : GED
51 Come into flower : BLOSSOM (or BLOOM)
54 Genesis twin : ESAU
56 Court stat : REB
57 Court setting : BAIL
60 “Mi casa es su casa” speaker : AMIGO
63 Woman of mystery : AGATHA
66 Gave a dirty look : POLLUTED (or POUTED)
68 Went out, as a bulb : DIMMED (or DIED)
69 Water, facetiously : ADAM’S ALE
70 Way up or way down : STAIR
71 Patisserie array : DESSERTS

Down

1 Vacated : LEFT
2 Well-financed gp.? : OPEC
3 Helped out of a funk : CHEERED UP
4 Singer Clarkson : KELLY
5 Close parentheses, at times : SMILES
6 Top score on some reviews : TEN
7 Hence, in logic : ERGO
8 “Not interested” : PASS
9 Female koala : DOE
10 Site of many errant apostrophes : ITS
11 Pitfall! platform : ATARI
12 Director of a Batman film trilogy : NOLAN
13 Chorus of agreement : AMENS
15 Stream : BROOK
20 “The poetry of reality,” per Richard Dawkins : SCIENCE
23 Menu option : SAVE
25 End of Oktober? : -FEST
26 Jazz great Earl “__” Hines : FATHA
27 Root beer brand since 1937 : DAD’S
28 Sunscreen additive : ALOE
30 Shoebox project : DIORAMA
33 Memorial bios : OBITS
35 __ Lanka : SRI
37 Instrument that never needs tuning? : AIR GUITAR
38 Jeans patch site : KNEE
39 Quaint cry : EGAD!
41 Thailand neighbor : LAOS
42 Sighed words : OH ME
47 Spoil : GO BAD
49 Biblical book partly by King David : PSALMS
51 Little nails : BRADS
52 Not shady : LEGIT
53 Only U.S. president born in Hawaii : OBAMA
55 Entertain : AMUSE
58 FaceTime tablet : IPAD
59 Ore deposit : LODE
61 Hanukkah moolah : GELT
62 Many Sharon Olds poems : ODES
64 Informal “You’re oversharing” : TMI
65 “That girl?” : HER
67 “Viva __ Vegas” : LAS