LA Times Crossword 12 Oct 20, Monday

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Constructed by: Bruce Venzke & Gail Grabowski
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Reveal Answer: Toolbox

Themed answers each end with a TOOL we might have in our TOOLBOX:

  • 39A Carpenter’s accessory that might hold the ends of the answers to starred clues : TOOLBOX
  • 17A *Party drink in a bowl : FRUIT PUNCH
  • 62A *Software help text : README FILE
  • 11D *School evacuation exercise : FIRE DRILL
  • 32D *Pre-WWII aircraft used for postal deliveries : MAIL PLANE

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

Bill’s time: 5m 05s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Hyundai sedan : AZERA

“Azera” was the name used worldwide for the Hyundai model known as the “Grandeur” in its homeland of South Korea. The Azera was produced from 1986 to 1992.

10 Maker of nonstick cookware : T-FAL

Tefal (also “T-Fal”) is a French manufacturer of cookware that is famous for its nonstick line. The name “Tefal” is a portmanteau of TEFlon and ALuminum, the key materials used in producing their pots and pans.

14 French red wine with a physician in its spelling : MEDOC

Médoc is an appellation for wine in the Bordeaux region of France. The area produces red wine almost exclusively, and no white wine can be labelled as “Médoc”.

15 Black gem : ONYX

Onyx is a form of quartz that comes in many different shades, but most often it’s the black version that’s used for jewelry. The name “onyx” comes from the Greek word for “fingernail”, as onyx in the flesh color is said to resemble a fingernail.

17 *Party drink in a bowl : FRUIT PUNCH

The drink we call “punch” can be either alcoholic or non-alcoholic, but usually contains some fruit juice and/or fruit. The original “punch” was served in India, and the name comes from the Hindi word “panch” meaning “five”. This name was used because the traditional drink had “five” ingredients: alcohol, sugar, lemon, water and tea or spices.

19 Spring flower : IRIS

Iris is a genus of flowering plants that come in a wide variety of flower colors. The term “iris” is a Greek word meaning “rainbow”. Many species of irises are called “flags”. One suggestion is that the alternate name comes from the Middle English “flagge” meaning “reed”. This term was used because iris leaves look like reeds.

20 Soft slip-on : MOC

“Moc” is short for “moccasin”, a type of shoe. The moccasin is a traditional form of footwear worn by members of many Native American tribes.

25 Spiral-horned antelope : ELAND

The eland (plural “eland, elands”) is a large African antelope, in fact the largest antelope on the planet. Both male and female eland have horns, and those horns have a steady spiral ridge along their length.

27 Approx. takeoff hr. : ETD

Estimated time of departure (ETD)

28 Owner of the restaurant NOLA : EMERIL

Emeril Lagasse is an American chef who was born in Massachusetts. Lagasse first achieved celebrity as executive chef in Commander’s Palace in New Orleans. Now famous for his television shows, his cuisine still showcases New Orleans ingredients and influences. Lagasse started using his famous “Bam!” catchphrase in order to keep his crew awake during repeated tapings of his show.

The city of New Orleans, Louisiana has the nickname “The Big Easy”. This name might come from the early 1900s when musicians found it relatively “easy” to find work there. The city is also known by the acronym NOLA, standing for New Orleans (NO), Louisiana (LA).

31 Biker’s stunt bike, briefly : BMX

“BMX” stands for “Bicycle Motocross”. It’s the sport where folks on bicycles race around what is in effect a regular motocross track. Medals were awarded for BMX for the first time at the Beijing Olympics, with a Latvian winning for the men, and a Française winning for the women.

33 State with a three-word capital : UTAH

Salt Lake City (SLC) was founded by Brigham Young, in 1847. The city takes its name from the Great Salt Lake on which it sits, and indeed was known as “Great Salt Lake City” up until 1868.

37 Novelist Jong : ERICA

Author Erica Jong’s most famous work is her first: “Fear of Flying”, a novel published in 1973. Over twenty years later, Jong wrote “Fear of Fifty: a midlife memoir”, published in 1994.

38 Burlesque wrap : BOA

The word “burlesque” came into English from French, although the word is rooted in the Italian “burla”, the word for a joke, or mockery. A burlesque is work of literature, drama or music that is intended to amuse and cause laughter. Burlesques in the US took on a variety show format and were popular in the US from the 1860s. Over time, the variety acts started to include female striptease, and the term “burlesque” has come to be mainly associated with such entertainment. The derivative verb “to burlesque” means “to imitate mockingly”.

39 Carpenter’s accessory that might hold the ends of the answers to starred clues : TOOLBOX

A carpenter is someone who shapes and assembles structural woodwork. The term “carpenter” comes from the Late Latin “carpentarius” meaning “wagon or carriage maker”. Both “carpenter” and “car” probably derive ultimately from the Gaulish word “karros” meaning “chariot”. Quite interesting …

44 Lowly worker : PEON

A peon is a lowly worker who has no real control over his/her working conditions. The word “peon” comes into English from Spanish, in which language it has the same meaning.

45 Jolson and Jarreau : ALS

Singer and actor Al Joson was born in Lithuania and moved to New York City with his family as a child. Jolson is best remembered for his starring role in the 1927 movie “The Jazz Singer”, the world’s first “talkie”. He also actively supported US troops. He was the first star to entertain troops overseas during WWII, and the first to entertain troops during the Korean War. In fact, Jolson died in 1950 just a few weeks after putting on an exhausting 42 shows in 16 days in Korea.

50 “My Cousin Vinny” star : PESCI

Joe Pesci got his big break in movies with a supporting role in “Raging Bull” starring Robert De Niro, earning Pesci an Oscar nomination early in his career. There followed a string of gangster roles played alongside De Niro, namely “Once Upon a Time in America”, “Goodfellas” and “Casino”. But I like Pesci’s comedic acting best of all. He was marvelous in the “Home Alone” films, the “Lethal Weapon” series, and my personal favorite, “My Cousin Vinny”. Pesci gets a mention in the stage musical “Jersey Boys”, which isn’t too surprising as he is one of the show’s producers.

“My Cousin Vinny” is a really fun film from 1992 starring Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei. In 2008, the American Bar Association rated “My Cousin Vinny” as the #3 Greatest Legal Movie of all time, after “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “12 Angry Men”!

57 Earthy pigments : OCHERS

Ocher is a light, yellowish-brown color, although variations of the pigment are possible such as red ocher and purple ocher. “Ocher” is usually spelled “ochre” on the other side of the pond.

59 Verizon ISP : AOL

Telecom giant Verizon acquired AOL in 2015, and Yahoo! in 2017. Just after the latter purchase, Verizon launched Oath, a subsidiary company that served as the umbrella under which AOl and Yahoo! continued to operate. Oath was renamed to Verizon Media Group after a corporate reorganization at the end of 2018.

61 Israeli diplomat Abba : EBAN

Abba Eban was an Israeli diplomat and politician. He was born Aubrey Solomon Meir Eban in Cape Town, South Africa. While working at the United Nations after WWII, Eban changed his given name to “Abba”, the Hebrew word for “father”. Reportedly, he made this change as Eban saw himself as the father of the nation of Israel.

62 *Software help text : README FILE

A readme (or “read me”) file is usually a simple text file that is issued with software when it is distributed. It often contains the latest information about the application, including bugs that were found at the last minute just before release.

64 Actress Meyer of “Dragonheart” : DINA

Dina Meyer started her acting career with a recurring role on the TV show “Beverly Hills, 90210”. She then landed the lead female role in the 1995 movie “Johnny Mnemonic”.

“DragonHeart” is a 1996 fantasy movie starring Dennis Quaid as a dragon-slayer and Sean Connery as the voice of the last remaining dragon.

65 Gardner who created Perry Mason : ERLE

I must have read all of the “Perry Mason” books when I was in college. I think they kept me sane when I was facing the pressure of exams. Author Erle Stanley Gardner was himself a lawyer, although he didn’t get into the profession the easy way. Gardner went to law school, but got himself suspended after a month. So, he became a self-taught attorney and opened his own law office in Merced, California. Understandably perhaps, Gardner gave up the law once his novels became successful.

68 British mil. honors : DSOS

The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a British military award that is usually presented to officers with the rank of major or higher.

Down

1 Car radio letters : AM/FM

Amplitude modulation/frequency modulation (AM/FM)

In telecommunications, a radio signal is transmitted using a sinusoidal carrier wave. Information is transmitted using this carrier wave in two main ways, by varying (modulating) the instantaneous amplitude (signal strength) of the carrier wave, and by modulating the instantaneous frequency of the carrier wave. The former is referred to as an AM signal (“amplitude modulation”), and the latter as an FM signal (“frequency modulation”).

2 State in which astronauts float : ZERO G

The force of gravity (g-force) that we all feel is referred to as “one G”. As gravity is an accelerating force, acceleration is measured relative to that force of gravity. So, if we are sitting in a vehicle that accelerates at 3G, then we are experiencing a force that is three times that which we feel from the gravitational pull of the earth. Zero G is weightlessness that is experienced when in space, and outside the influence of the earth’s gravity.

4 French monarch : ROI

In French, a “roi” (king) might be found in a “palais” (palace).

5 Pantomime : ACT OUT

Our word “pantomime” comes from the Greek word “pantomimos” meaning “actor”. The literal translation of the Greek is “imitator of all”, from “panto-” (all) and “mimos” (imitator). We use the term today to describe communication by means of facial expression and physical gestures. On the other side of the Atlantic, pantomimes (often “pantos”) are also very popular Christmas entertainments based on nursery tales like “Mother Goose”, “Aladdin” and “Jack and the Beanstalk”. Great, great stuff …

6 Hoops offenses : FOULS

Basketball is truly a North American sport. It was created in 1891 by Canadian James Naismith at the YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts. His goal was to create something active and interesting for his students in the gym. The first “hoops” were actually peach baskets, with the bottoms of the baskets intact. When a player got the ball into the “net”, someone had to clamber up and get the ball back out again in order to continue the game!

7 Actress Gunn of “Breaking Bad” : ANNA

Anna Gunn is an actress from Santa Fe, New Mexico. She is best known for playing Skyler White on the TV show “Breaking Bad”.

12 Hertz rival : AVIS

Rental car company Avis used the tagline “We Try Harder” for five decades, starting in the early 1960s. The slogan had its roots in a 1962 ad campaign in which the company made brilliant use of its position behind market leader Hertz. The first rendition of the new tagline was “When you’re only No. 2, you try harder. Or else”. Within a year, Avis turned its first profit in over a decade, and within three years, increased the company’s market share from 29% to 36%. Avis eventually moved on to the slogan “It’s Your Space” in 2012.

18 Hall & Oates or Sonny & Cher : POP DUO

Daryl Hall & John Oates are a pop music duo who were most successful in the late seventies and early eighties. They had six number one hits, including the 1982 release “Maneater”.

Singing duo Sonny & Cher started out in the mid-1960s as backing singers working with Phil Spector. The couple married in 1964, and the next year released their breakthrough numbers “Baby Don’t Go” and “I Got You Babe”. Sonny and Cher divorced in 1975, and dissolved their act that same year. Cher moved onto a successful solo career that continues to this day. Sonny Bono was elected as a US Congressman for California in 1995. Sadly, he didn’t finish his term in the House as he died from injuries sustained in a skiing accident in 1998.

26 Rival co. of Visa : AMEX

“Amex” is short for “American Express”, the name of the financial services company that is best known for its credit card, charge card and traveler’s check businesses. The company name is indicative of its original business. American Express was founded in 1850 in Buffalo, New York as an express mail service.

29 Post-op areas : ICUS

Intensive care unit (ICU)

34 T-shirt or polo : TOP

René Lacoste was a French tennis player who went into the clothing business, and came up with a more comfortable shirt that players could use. This became known as a “tennis shirt”. When it was adopted for use in the sport of polo, the shirts also became known as “polo shirts”. The “golf shirt” is basically the same thing.

36 “Perry Mason” network : HBO

“Perry Mason” is a TV series based on the character created by author Erle Stanley Gardner. Premiering in 2020, the show stars Matthew Rhys in the title role. It is set in 1930s, and presents the backstory to the celebrated lawyer depicted in the books and the original TV show from the fifties and sixties starring Raymond Burr.

43 Mekong River country : VIETNAM

At over 2,700 miles in length, the Mekong is the twelfth longest river in the world. It rises in the Tibetan Plateau and empties into the South China Sea at the famed Mekong Delta in Vietnam.

45 Royal flush card : ACE

The poker hand called a royal flush is the highest-ranking hand possible. It consists of a run of 10, jack, queen, king and ace, with all in the same suit.

53 Salary increase : RAISE

It has been suggested that our term “salary” comes from the Latin “sal” meaning “salt”. The idea is that a Roman soldier’s “salarium” might have been an allowance to purchase salt.

54 Actor Nick : NOLTE

Actor Nick Nolte got his big break playing opposite Jacqueline Bisset and Robert Shaw in “The Deep”, released in 1976. Prior to that, he had worked as a model. Nolte appeared in a magazine advertisement for Clairol in 1972 alongside fellow model and future actor Sigourney Weaver.

56 Last bio : OBIT

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”.

58 Saintly aura : HALO

The Greek word “halos” is the name given to the ring of light around the sun or moon, which gives us our word “halo” that is used for a radiant light depicted above the head of a saintly person.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Hyundai sedan : AZERA
6 Meet in competition : FACE
10 Maker of nonstick cookware : T-FAL
14 French red wine with a physician in its spelling : MEDOC
15 Black gem : ONYX
16 Home for bees : HIVE
17 *Party drink in a bowl : FRUIT PUNCH
19 Spring flower : IRIS
20 Soft slip-on : MOC
21 “Très sexy!” : OO LA LA!
22 Source of some tweets : NEST
23 Costumes : GETUPS
25 Spiral-horned antelope : ELAND
27 Approx. takeoff hr. : ETD
28 Owner of the restaurant NOLA : EMERIL
31 Biker’s stunt bike, briefly : BMX
33 State with a three-word capital : UTAH
37 Novelist Jong : ERICA
38 Burlesque wrap : BOA
39 Carpenter’s accessory that might hold the ends of the answers to starred clues : TOOLBOX
41 Haul with effort : LUG
42 Kicking partner? : ALIVE
44 Lowly worker : PEON
45 Jolson and Jarreau : ALS
46 Depends (on) : RELIES
48 Space-saving abbr. : ETC
50 “My Cousin Vinny” star : PESCI
52 Underground chamber : CAVERN
55 Shed feathers : MOLT
57 Earthy pigments : OCHERS
59 Verizon ISP : AOL
61 Israeli diplomat Abba : EBAN
62 *Software help text : README FILE
64 Actress Meyer of “Dragonheart” : DINA
65 Gardner who created Perry Mason : ERLE
66 Sampler’s sip : TASTE
67 Apple topper : STEM
68 British mil. honors : DSOS
69 Villain’s look : SNEER

Down

1 Car radio letters : AM/FM
2 State in which astronauts float : ZERO G
3 Elicit : EDUCE
4 French monarch : ROI
5 Pantomime : ACT OUT
6 Hoops offenses : FOULS
7 Actress Gunn of “Breaking Bad” : ANNA
8 Rinse or spin : CYCLE
9 Breathe out : EXHALE
10 More like a wafer : THINNER
11 *School evacuation exercise : FIRE DRILL
12 Hertz rival : AVIS
13 Out of concern that : LEST
18 Hall & Oates or Sonny & Cher : POP DUO
24 Second-largest U.S. state : TEX
26 Rival co. of Visa : AMEX
29 Post-op areas : ICUS
30 Fall behind : LAG
31 Tree trunk : BOLE
32 *Pre-WWII aircraft used for postal deliveries : MAIL PLANE
34 T-shirt or polo : TOP
35 Brewery output : ALE
36 “Perry Mason” network : HBO
38 35-Down seller : BAR
39 Golf ball supports : TEES
40 Like challenging push-ups : ONE-ARM
43 Mekong River country : VIETNAM
45 Royal flush card : ACE
47 Put points on the board : SCORED
49 Sports bar fixtures : TV SETS
51 Cake finishers : ICERS
52 Relinquishes formally : CEDES
53 Salary increase : RAISE
54 Actor Nick : NOLTE
55 What docs prescribe : MEDS
56 Last bio : OBIT
58 Saintly aura : HALO
60 Villain’s look : LEER
63 Breeze creator : FAN