LA Times Crossword 7 Jun 23, Wednesday

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Constructed by: Jared Goudsmit
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Baloney Sandwich

Themed answers each start and end with letters that spell out a synonym of “BALONEY”:

  • 56A Classic grade-school lunch, and what’s literally found in 17-, 33-, and 40-Across? : BALONEY SANDWICH
  • 17A Über-genius : ROCKET SCIENTIST (giving “ROT”)
  • 33A National Historical Park in Boston that commemorates a 1775 battle : BUNKER HILL (giving “BULL”)
  • 40A Prominent feature of many a Jimi Hendrix song : GUITAR RIFF (giving “GUFF”)

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

Bill’s time: 6m 02s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 “Ray” Oscar winner Foxx : JAMIE

Jamie Foxx is the professional name used by Eric Marlon Bishop, an actor from Terrell, Texas. Foxx is a very versatile entertainer. He is an Oscar-winning actor (for playing the title role in “Ray”), and a Grammy Award winning musician. He is also a stand-up comedian and a talk-radio host.

Ray Charles came up with his stage name by dropping the family name from his real moniker “Ray Charles Robinson”. His life was a wild ride, and was well-represented in the excellent 2004 biopic called “Ray” starring Jamie Foxx in the title role. Ray Charles was married twice and fathered 12 children with nine different women. As I said, a wild ride …

14 Sicily’s country : ITALY

In the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, the “boot” is the mainland of Italy, and the “ball” being kicked by the boot is the island of Sicily.

17 Über-genius : ROCKET SCIENTIST (giving “ROT”)

“Über” is the German word for “over, across, above”. We have absorbed “uber-” into English as a prefix meaning “very”.

20 Pound pts. : OZS

Our term “ounce” (abbreviated to “oz.”) comes from the Latin “uncia”, which was 1/12 of a “libra”, the Roman “pound”. “Uncia” is also the derivation of our word “inch”, 1/12 of a foot.

21 __ Vegas Raiders : LAS

The Las Vegas Raiders football team was founded in 1960, and was originally intended to play in Minnesota. Instead, the team played in Oakland from 1960 to 1981 and then spent 12 years in Los Angeles before returning to Oakland in 1995. In 2017, the Raiders announced their plan to relocate to Las Vegas starting in 2020.

23 Oily compound : LIPID

Lipids are a group of naturally occurring molecules including fats, waxes and fat-soluble vitamins (like A, D and E). Sometimes we use the words “fat” and “lipid” interchangeably but fats are a subgroup of lipids, specifically a group best called triglycerides.

25 Banh mi spread : MAYO

Mayonnaise originated in the town of Mahon in Menorca, a Mediterranean island belonging to Spain. The Spanish called the sauce “salsa mahonesa” after the town, and this morphed into the French word “mayonnaise” that we use in English today.

The French introduced the baguette into Vietnam in the days the country was a French colony. Today, a single-serving baguette is known in Vietnam as “bánh mì” (meaning “wheat bread”). The term has been extended, particularly here in the US, to describe a Vietnamese sandwich.

26 Michael of “Alfie” : CAINE

There have been only two actors who have been nominated for an Academy Award in every decade from the 1960s to the 2000s. One is Jack Nicholson, and the other is Michael Caine. Caine is now known as Sir Michael Caine, as he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in the year 2000.

There have been two versions of the movie “Alfie”. The original, and for my money the best, was made in 1966 with Michael Caine. The remake came out in 2004 and stars Jude Law in the title role. The theme song was performed by Cher in the 1966 movie, but it was Dionne Warwick’s cover version from 1967 that was the most successful in the charts.

30 New Deal pres. : FDR

The New Deal was the series of economic programs championed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) in response to the Great Depression. The New Deal was focused on three objectives, the “3 Rs”:

  1. Relief for the unemployed and poor
  2. Recovery of the economy to normal levels
  3. Reform of the financial system to prevent a repeat depression

33 National Historical Park in Boston that commemorates a 1775 battle : BUNKER HILL (giving “BULL”)

The Battle of Bunker Hill was a victory for the British early in the American War of Independence, although the British losses were so large that it emboldened the inexperienced colonial militiamen who were up against regular army troops. The battle was named for nearby Bunker Hill located close to Charlestown, Massachusetts, although almost all of the combat took place on Breed’s Hill.

35 French father : PERE

In French, a “père” (father) is a “membre de la famille” (member of the family).

38 “Philadelphia” or “Chicago” : MOVIE

“Philadelphia” is a groundbreaking 1993 film starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington. The movie was one of the first out of Hollywood to deal with HIV/AIDS and homophobia as a central theme. Hanks won that season’s Best Actor Oscar for his performance, and Bruce Springsteen won the Oscar for Best Original Song with “Streets of Philadelphia”.

The 2002 musical film “Chicago” is based on the 1975 stage musical of the same name, which in turn is based on a 1926 play, also of the same name. 2002’s “Chicago” was a big hit, and was the first musical to win the Best Picture Oscar since “Oliver!” in 1968.

39 Stratford’s river : AVON

Stratford-upon-Avon is a town in the county of Warwickshire in the English midlands. Most famously perhaps, it was the birthplace of William Shakespeare.

40 Prominent feature of many a Jimi Hendrix song : GUITAR RIFF (giving “GUFF”)

A riff is a short rhythmic phrase in music, especially one improvised on a guitar.

The word “guff” has been around since the late 1800s and means “empty talk”. The term comes from the sense of “puff of air”.

Many of his contemporaries regarded Jimi Hendrix as the greatest electric guitarist in the history of rock music. Hendrix was from Seattle and didn’t really have a really stellar start to his working life. He failed to finish high school and fell foul of the law by getting caught in stolen cars, twice. The courts gave him the option of the army or two years in prison. Hendrix chose the former and soon found himself in the famous 101st Airborne. In the army, his less-than-disciplined ways helped him (as he would have seen it) because his superiors successfully petitioned to get him discharged after serving only one year of his two-year requirement, just to get him out of their hair.

42 Tender in Tokyo : YEN

The Japanese yen is the third-most traded currency in the world, after the US dollar and the euro.

45 Actress __ Rachel Wood : EVAN

Actress Evan Rachel Wood’s most famous role to date is playing one of the leads in the 2003 movie “Thirteen”. Wood’s private life draws a lot of attention, especially as she was romantically linked for some time with the “outrageous” musician Marilyn Manson.

47 Billionaire financier George : SOROS

Hungarian businessman George Soros was born György Schwartz in Hungary in 1930. Famously, Soros made a short sale of $10 billion worth of UK pounds during the 1992 Black Wednesday UK currency crisis, making him a profit of over $1 billion. The move led to him being dubbed “the man who broke the Bank of England”.

49 Where to watch Kings battle Senators : ICE RINK

The Los Angeles Kings hockey team was founded in 1967 and joined the NHL as an expansion team. The Kings played their home games at the start of the first season not in Los Angeles, but rather in neighboring Long Beach, at the Long Beach Arena. Team owner Jack Kent Cooke built his own arena for the Kings called the Forum, which opened for business later in the season. The Kings called the Forum home for thirty-two years, until they moved to the Staples Center at the start of the 1999-2000 season.

The Senators are the NHL hockey team based in Ottawa, Canada. The current team, founded in the 1992-93 season, is the second NHL team in the city to use the name “Senators”. The original team was founded in 1917, and had a very successful run until the league expanded into the US in the late twenties. The cost of operating in what became the smallest NHL city eventually drove the Senators to St. Louis where they played for a year as the Eagles before finally folding.

52 __ goo gai pan : MOO

Moo goo gai pan is the American version of a traditional Cantonese dish. In Cantonese, “moo goo” means “button mushroom”, “gai” is “chicken” and “pan” is “slices”.

53 Prosecutors, for short : DAS

District attorney (DA)

56 Classic grade-school lunch, and what’s literally found in 17-, 33-, and 40-Across? : BALONEY SANDWICH

“Baloney” is an American English variant of “Bologna” as in the sausage. The term came to be used to mean “nonsense” in the 1920s. “Baloney” was popularized in the 1930s by New York Governor Alfred E. Smith as he used the term quite often.

60 Disney film featuring light cycles : TRON

Released in 1982, Disney’s “Tron” was one of the first mainstream films to make extensive use of computer graphics. The main role in the movie is played by Jeff Bridges. The original spawned a 2010 sequel called “Tron: Legacy”, as well as a 2012 TV show called “Tron: Uprising”.

61 The Scales of the Zodiac : LIBRA

The constellation of Libra is named for the scales held by the goddess of justice. Libra is the only sign of the zodiac that isn’t named for a living creature.

63 Cab : TAXI

We call cabs “taxis”, a word derived from “taximeter cabs” that were introduced in London in 1907. A taximeter was an automated meter designed to record distance traveled and fare to be charged. The term “taximeter” evolved from “taxameter”, with “taxa” being Latin for “tax, charge”.

64 And the following, in footnotes : ET SEQ

The Latin phrase “et sequens” or “et sequentia” is used in English to mean “and following”, and is abbreviated to “et seq.”

Down

1 “__ Dreams of Sushi”: documentary about a Japanese chef : JIRO

Jiro Ono is a Japanese celebrity chef and sushi master. He opened Sukiyabashi Jiro in 1965 in the Ginza district of Tokyo, an establishment that became the first sushi restaurant in the world to receive three stars from the “Michelin Guide”.

6 Argentine soccer superstar Lionel : MESSI

Lionel “Leo” Messi is a soccer player from Argentina. Messi has been awarded FIFA’s Ballon d’Or (Golden Ball) award more times than any other player. The Ballon d’Or is presented to the player who is considered the best in the world in the prior year.

8 Low-pH substance : ACID
12 High-pH substance : BASE

As we all recall from chemistry class, a pH of 7 is considered neutral. Anything less than 7 is an acid, and anything above 7 is a base.

9 The “T” of BTU : THERMAL

In the world of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), the power of a heating or cooling unit can be measured using the British Thermal Unit (BTU). This dated unit is the amount of energy required to heat a pound of water so that the water’s temperature increases by one degree Fahrenheit.

10 Brandt of “Breaking Bad” : BETSY

Betsy Brandt is an actress best known for playing Marie Schrader on “Breaking Bad”. Brandt has two children, the second of which was born while the second season of “Breaking Bad” was being filmed.

11 Mid-2000s comedy tour featuring Ahmed Ahmed and Maz Jobrani : AXIS OF EVIL

The Axis of Evil Comedy Tour is a group of four Middle Eastern comedians (and some special guest comedians). The four regular members of the group are Ahmed Ahmed (Egyptian American), Maz Jobrani (Iranian American), Aron Kader (Palestinian American) and Dean Obeidallah (Palestinian American).

“Axis of evil” is a term coined by President George W. Bush to describe the regimes in Iran, Iraq and North Korea. The president introduced the phrase in his 2002 State of the Union address.

13 CPR-performing team : EMTS

An emergency medical technician (EMT) might administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

18 Become pointed : TAPER

I used to think that the word “taper” was used for a slender candle because said candle was “tapered” in shape, but it’s exactly the opposite. It turns out that our word “tapered” comes from the candle. “Taper” and “tapur” are Old English words meaning “candle”. From these nouns arose the verb “to taper” meaning “shoot up like flame”. This meaning evolved into “become slender” from the idea that a candle’s flame has such a shape.

32 Snorkeling locale : REEF

Our word “snorkel” comes from German navy slang “Schnorchel” meaning “nose, snout”. The German slang was applied to an air-shaft used for submarines, due to its resemblance to a nose, in that air passed through it and it made a “snoring” sound. “Schnorchel” comes from “Schnarchen”, the German for “snore”.

33 Party time, casually : B-DAY

Birthday (b-day)

38 Mime played by Bill Irwin on “Elmo’s World” : MR NOODLE

The character named Mr. Noodle is a mime who appears in the “Elmo’s World” segment of “Sesame Street”. The character was originally played by Broadway actor Bill Erwin, starting in 1998.

40 Media giant that owns USA Today : GANNETT

Gannett is a media holding company that is the largest newspaper publisher in the country in terms of circulation. The company’s flagship publication is “USA Today”.

41 Ohio birthplace of LeBron James : AKRON

For much of the 1800s, the Ohio city of Akron was the fastest-growing city in the country, feeding off the industrial boom of that era. The city was founded in 1825 and its location, along the Ohio and Erie canal connecting Lake Erie with the Ohio River, helped to fuel Akron’s growth. Akron sits at the highest point of the canal and the name “Akron” comes from the Greek word meaning “summit”. Indeed, Akron is the county seat of Summit County. The city earned the moniker “Rubber Capital of the World” for most of the 20th century, as it was home to four major tire companies: Goodrich, Goodyear, Firestone and General Tire.

Basketball player LeBron James (nicknamed “King James”) seems to be in demand for the covers of magazines. James became the first African-American man to adorn the front cover of “Vogue” in March 2008. That made him only the third male to make the “Vogue” cover, following Richard Gere and George Clooney.

48 Muscat citizen : OMANI

Muscat is the capital of Oman. The city lies on the northeast coast of the state on the Gulf of Oman, a branch of the Persian Gulf.

49 Hieroglyphics bird : IBIS

The ibis is a wading bird that was revered in ancient Egypt. “Ibis” is an interesting word grammatically speaking. You can have one “ibis” or two “ibises”, and then again one has a flock of “ibis”. And if you want to go with the classical plural, instead of two “ibises” you would have two “ibides”!

The prefix “hiero-” comes from the Greek word “hieros” meaning sacred or holy. The classic use of the prefix is in the term “hieroglyph” (meaning “sacred carving”), the writing system that uses symbols and pictures.

50 Bistro : CAFE

“Bistro” was originally a Parisian slang term describing a little wine shop or restaurant.

51 Actress Sedgwick : KYRA

Actress Kyra Sedgwick is perhaps best known for playing Deputy Chief Johnson, the lead character on the crime drama show “The Closer”. Sedgwick married fellow actor Kevin Bacon in 1988. Sedgwick appeared on a family history show, and discovered that she and her husband are cousins, albeit tenth cousins once removed. I bet that was a surprise …

53 “I claim that!” : DIBS!

The phrase “to have dibs on” expresses a claim on something. Apparently, the term “dibs” is a contraction of “dibstone”, which was a knucklebone or jack used in a children’s game.

55 “Inside the NBA” analyst, to fans : SHAQ

Retired basketball player Shaquille O’Neal now appears regularly as an analyst on the NBA TV show “Inside the NBA”. Shaq has quite a career in the entertainment world. His first rap album, called “Shaq Diesel”, went platinum. He also starred in two of his own reality shows: “Shaq’s Big Challenge” and “Shaq Vs.”

57 Fenway team, briefly : SOX

The Boston Red Sox are one of the most successful Major League Baseball teams and so command a large attendance, but only when on the road. The relatively small capacity of Boston’s Fenway Park, the team’s home since 1912, has dictated that every game the Red Sox have played there has been a sell-out from May of 2003 to April 2013. I had the pleasure of touring Fenway Park some years ago. It’s quite a place …

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 “Ray” Oscar winner Foxx : JAMIE
6 Beef or pork : MEAT
10 Hon : BABE
14 Sicily’s country : ITALY
15 Make one’s mark? : ETCH
16 Skills barometer : EXAM
17 Über-genius : ROCKET SCIENTIST (giving “ROT”)
20 Pound pts. : OZS
21 __ Vegas Raiders : LAS
22 Puts on clothes : DRESSES
23 Oily compound : LIPID
25 Banh mi spread : MAYO
26 Michael of “Alfie” : CAINE
28 Distant : AFAR
30 New Deal pres. : FDR
33 National Historical Park in Boston that commemorates a 1775 battle : BUNKER HILL (giving “BULL”)
35 French father : PERE
36 Clothesline alternative : DRYER
37 In the vein of : A LA
38 “Philadelphia” or “Chicago” : MOVIE
39 Stratford’s river : AVON
40 Prominent feature of many a Jimi Hendrix song : GUITAR RIFF (giving “GUFF”)
42 Tender in Tokyo : YEN
43 Washed-out : PALE
44 Used a prayer rug : KNELT
45 Actress __ Rachel Wood : EVAN
47 Billionaire financier George : SOROS
49 Where to watch Kings battle Senators : ICE RINK
52 __ goo gai pan : MOO
53 Prosecutors, for short : DAS
56 Classic grade-school lunch, and what’s literally found in 17-, 33-, and 40-Across? : BALONEY SANDWICH
59 “Supposing that’s true … ” : IF SO …
60 Disney film featuring light cycles : TRON
61 The Scales of the Zodiac : LIBRA
62 Come off as : SEEM
63 Cab : TAXI
64 And the following, in footnotes : ET SEQ

Down

1 “__ Dreams of Sushi”: documentary about a Japanese chef : JIRO
2 Encyclopedic in range : A TO Z
3 PC alternatives : MACS
4 Sort : ILK
5 Cosmetics item : EYELINER
6 Argentine soccer superstar Lionel : MESSI
7 Space-saving abbr. : ETC
8 Low-pH substance : ACID
9 The “T” of BTU : THERMAL
10 Brandt of “Breaking Bad” : BETSY
11 Mid-2000s comedy tour featuring Ahmed Ahmed and Maz Jobrani : AXIS OF EVIL
12 High-pH substance : BASE
13 CPR-performing team : EMTS
18 Become pointed : TAPER
19 Within a stone’s throw : NEAR
23 Compare : LIKEN
24 Newsstand spread : DAILIES
26 Learning __ : CURVE
27 “Who’s next?” : ANYONE ELSE?
29 Unfizzy : FLAT
31 Get sidetracked : DRIFT
32 Snorkeling locale : REEF
33 Party time, casually : B-DAY
34 Heist loot : HAUL
35 Skin openings : PORES
38 Mime played by Bill Irwin on “Elmo’s World” : MR NOODLE
40 Media giant that owns USA Today : GANNETT
41 Ohio birthplace of LeBron James : AKRON
43 Apt rhyme for “sprain” : PAIN
46 Race car sound : VROOM!
48 Muscat citizen : OMANI
49 Hieroglyphics bird : IBIS
50 Bistro : CAFE
51 Actress Sedgwick : KYRA
53 “I claim that!” : DIBS!
54 Land division : ACRE
55 “Inside the NBA” analyst, to fans : SHAQ
57 Fenway team, briefly : SOX
58 Clever one : WIT