LAXCrossword.com

Advertisement

Constructed by: Harry Doernberg
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: F-Stop

Themed answers STOP at the letter F, both at the start and the end:

• 46D Camera lens setting, and a feature of both ends of 17-, 23-, 46-, and 57- Across? : F-STOP

• 17A Closely held conviction : FIRM BELIEF
• 23A Sport with flying saucers : FRISBEE GOLF
• 46A Blue toon in green overalls and a straw hat : FARMER SMURF
• 57A Formal sleeve style : FRENCH CUFF

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

Bill’s time: 5m 43s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 SUV alternative : SEDAN

The American sedan car is the equivalent of the British and Irish saloon car. By definition, a sedan car has two rows of seating and a separate trunk (boot in Britain and Ireland), although in some models the engine can be at the rear of the car.

9 Tire speed stats : RPMS

Revolutions per minute (rpm)

13 Speaker on a dais : ORATOR

A dais is a raised platform for a speaker. The term “dais” comes from the Latin “discus” meaning a “disk-shaped object”. I guess that the original daises had such a shape.

20 Top combat pilots : ACES

A flying ace (also “air ace”) is an aviator who has shot down a number of enemy planes during combat. The qualifying number of kills seems to vary, but five is common. The first use of “ace” was during WWI, when the French newspapers dubbed pilot Adolphe Pegoud “l’as” (French for “the ace”) when he shot down his fifth German plane.

22 Nickel or copper : METAL

The whitish metal we know as “nickel” was given its name by Swedish mineralogist Axel von Cronstedt in 1754. The name he chose was an abbreviated version of “kopparnickel”, the Swedish for “copper-colored ore”.

Copper metal was mined by the ancient Romans, mainly in Cyprus. Because of its origin, the Romans called the metal “aes cyprium” (metal of Cyprus), a term that evolved into the Latin “cuprum”, which in turn became our “copper”. Copper’s element symbol “Cu” comes from the Latin “cuprum”.

23 Sport with flying saucers : FRISBEE GOLF

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.

Disc golf is also known as Frisbee golf, and sometimes even Frolf. Believe it or not, disc golf predates the introduction of the Frisbee. The first game was played at a school in Bladworth, Saskatchewan in 1926. The participating schoolkids threw tin lids into circles drawn on a course they created in the school grounds. They named the game “Tin Lid Golf”. By the way, I try to play disc golf at least three times a week. Lots of fun …

26 College level HS course : AP CLASS

Advanced Placement (AP)

37 Gem State capital : BOISE

Boise, Idaho is the capital and the largest metropolitan area in the state by far. There are a number of stories pertaining to the etymology of the name “Boise”. One is that French trappers called the tree-lined river that ran through the area “la rivière boisée”, meaning “the wooded river”. Boise is known today as “The City of Trees”.

Idaho has the nickname “Gem State”, mainly because almost every known type of gemstone has been found there. Idaho is also sometimes called the Potato State, as potatoes are such a popular crop in the state. I’d go for the potatoes over the gems, but that’s probably just me. Oh, and Idaho license plates have borne the slogan “Famous Potatoes” for decades …

40 Organ that produces insulin : PANCREAS

The pancreas has two main functions in the human body. In one role, it is part of the digestive system and secretes pancreatic juice into the digestive tract to neutralize stomach acids. In a second role, it secretes hormones (most notably insulin) that help regulate sugar levels in the blood.

The hormone insulin is secreted by structures in the pancreas called the islets of Langerhans, which are named for their island-like appearance under a microscope and for their discoverer Paul Langerhans. The hormone is named for the “islets”, as the Latin for island is “insula”.

42 Classic breath mint : CERTS

Certs were the first breath mints to be marketed nationally in the US, hitting the shelves in 1956. A Cert is called a mint, but it isn’t really as it contains no mint oil and instead has its famous ingredient named “Retsyn”. Retsyn is a mixture of copper gluconate (giving the green flecks), partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil (not healthy!) and flavoring (maybe mint?).

43 Microwave : HEAT

The microwave oven was invented in 1946 by Percy Spencer, an engineer at Raytheon. While he was standing beside an active radar unit, which used microwaves, he noticed that the candy bar in his pocket had melted. Spencer proceeded to expose various foods to microwaves in tests that would lead to the development of the first commercial microwave oven.

44 Ceramic cooker for a classic Boston dish : BEAN POT

In the days of sail, the natural trade routes across the Atlantic involved a lot of ships arriving in Boston directly from the West Indies. One of the main cargoes carried by these vessels coming from the West Indies was molasses. An abundance of cheap molasses led to an abundance of baked beans in the port city, and all those baked beans gave rise to Boston’s nickname “Beantown”.

46 Blue toon in green overalls and a straw hat : FARMER SMURF

The Smurfs are little blue people created in 1958 by the Belgian cartoonist who went by the pen name Peyo. The Smurfs became famous in the US when Hanna-Barbera used them in a children’s cartoon series. The characters are largely a group of males. The original lineup included just one “Smurfette”, who is wooed by almost all of the boy Smurfs. Later, another female was introduced into the mix called Sassette, and still later along came Granny Smurf.

52 “Poor Things” Oscar winner Stone : EMMA

Actress Emma Stone is from Scottsdale, Arizona. Shereally came to prominence with her performance in the 2010 high school movie called “Easy A”, and won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in the 2016 movie “La La Land”. Now one of the most sought-after actresses in Hollywood, Stone values her privacy and works hard to maintain a low profile. Good for her, I say …

“Poor Things” is a 2023 big-screen adaptation of a 1992 novel of the same name by Alasdair Gray. It is set in Victorian London, with Emma Stone playing the lead, Bella Baxter. Baxter has the body of an adult woman, but the mind of a fetus whose brain was transplanted into the adult woman. This one sounds very, very trippy …

57 Formal sleeve style : FRENCH CUFF

French cuffs are twice as long as single cuffs, and so are also referred to as “double cuffs”. The cuff is worn folded back on itself.

62 __ sauce: seafood condiment : TARTAR

Tartar sauce is basically mayonnaise with some chopped pickles, capers and onion or chives. The recipe was invented by the French (as “sauce tartare”) with the name somehow linked to the Tatars, a people who once occupied Ukraine and parts of Russia.

64 Colorado Plateau Native : UTE

The Colorado Plateau is a geographical feature in the southwest, covering parts of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona, roughly equivalent to what is known as the Four Corners region. It is home to the greatest concentration of national parks in the country. Included in the area are Grand Canyon NP, Zion NP, Bryce Canyon NP, Arches NP and Mesa Verde NP, to name but a few.

65 Bonkers : NUTSO

The word “bonkers” meaning “crazy” originated in the fifties. The term might come from navy slang meaning “slightly drunk”, behaving as though one received a “bonk” on the head.

Down

1 Furniture to crash on : SOFA

“Sofa” is a Turkish word meaning “bench”.

2 Rapper Eazy-E’s given name : ERIC

“Eazy-E” was the stage name of rapper Eric Lynn Wright. Eazy-E had a pretty liberal lifestyle, fathering seven children with six different women. In 1995, he died due to complications from AIDS when he was only 32 years old.

5 Noodle : NOB

The slang term “nob” has been used for “head” for over 300 years, and is a variant of “knob”.

7 Genesis figure : EVE

According to the Bible, Eve was created as Adam’s companion by God, creating her from Adam’s rib.

8 Rock’s __ Leppard : DEF

Def Leppard is a hard rock band from Sheffield in England. Drummer Rick Allen lost his arm in a car crash, severed by an incorrectly-worn seat belt. With the encouragement of the band, he returned to the lineup by using a specially designed electronic drum set. Amazing indeed …

9 Site of many outdoor presidential press conferences : ROSE GARDEN

The White House Rose Garden was the 1913 creation of Ellen Axson Wilson, the first wife of President Woodrow Wilson. Prior to the planting of the famous roses, the area was taken up by a colonial garden designed by First Lady Edith Roosevelt in 1902.

10 Shutterstock image : PHOTO

Shutterstock is a provider of stock photographs, videos and music that was founded in 2003 by Jon Oringer. Oringer started his business by uploading 30,000 of his own stock photos, and making them available for use by subscription. Quite quickly, he found that demand outstripped supply, and hired other contributors. As the demand continued to grow, he opened up his website to all photographers so that they could upload their images. By 2006, Shutterstock was the largest subscription-based stock photo agency in the world.

11 “Little Bunny Foo Foo” lesson, e.g. : MORAL

“Little Bunny Foo Foo” is a children’s poem that is sung to the tune of the French-Canadian children’s song “Alouette”.

12 Tchotchke holder : SHELF

“Tchotchke” is a slang term meaning “cheap, showy trinket”. It came into English from a Slavic source via Yiddish.

18 Daily Planet reporter Lane : LOIS

The “Daily Planet” is the fictional newspaper for which Clark Kent and Lois Lane work in the “Superman” universe. Clark and Lois’ editor-in-chief is Perry White.

26 Group with a Staying Sharp program : AARP

AARP offers its members a cognitive assessment test online as part of their Staying Sharp program. The AARP website presents the test, compares results to others in similar situations, and allows members to compare their test results over time.

28 Nickel or copper : COIN

The 5-cent American coin known as a nickel is actually made up of 75% copper and 25% nickel. The first nickel was introduced in 1866, and was named the Shield nickel due to the shield design on the front of the coin. The current design is the Jefferson nickel, which was introduced in 1938.

A “copper” is a coin made largely from “copper” (or bronze).

33 Old West icon Wyatt : EARP

Wyatt Earp is famous as one of the participants in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Earp was a city policeman in Wichita, Kansas and also in Dodge City, Kansas. Earp was also deputy sheriff in Tombstone, Arizona where the O.K. Corral gunfight took place. Years later, Earp joined the Alaska Gold Rush and with a partner built and operated the Dexter Saloon in Nome.

37 Fozzie, for one : BEAR

Fozzie Bear is the stand-up comic character on “The Muppet Show”. He is often the target of heckles from Statler and Waldorf who sit in the balcony.

46 Camera lens setting, and a feature of both ends of 17-, 23-, 46-, and 57- Across? : F-STOP

Varying the f-stop in a lens varies how big the lens opening (the aperture) is when a photograph is taken. Smaller apertures (higher f-stop values) admit less light, but result in a greater depth of field (more of the photograph is in focus).

47 San Antonio field trip site : ALAMO

The San Antonio mission known as the Alamo may have been named for a grove of nearby cottonwood trees. “Álamo” is the Spanish name for the cottonwood.

The city of San Antonio, Texas was named by Spanish explorers. They came upon a Native American settlement in the area on 13 June 1631, the feast day of St. Anthony of Padua.

49 Irish novelist Binchy : MAEVE

Maeve Binchy was a fabulous Irish novelist, and in my day a famous newspaper columnist whose column I would read daily. A few of her novels have made it to the big screen, including two I would recommend: “Circle of Friends” starring Chris O’Donnell and Minnie Driver, and “Tara Road” starring Andie MacDowell.

52 Eggshell shade : ECRU

The color ecru is a grayish, yellowish brown. The word “ecru” comes from French and means “raw, unbleached”. “Ecru” has the same roots as our word “crude”.

53 Pup of unknown origin : MUTT

The original use of the term “mutt” was for a foolish person, and was probably short for “muttonhead”. The usage evolved into today’s “mongrel dog”.

54 Some drama degs. : MFAS

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

55 Questlove’s hairstyle : AFRO

“Questlove” (also “?uestlove”) is the stage name of musician and DJ Ahmir Khalib Thompson. He is the drummer of hip-hop band the Roots. The Roots were the house band on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon”, and followed the host when he moved in 2014 to “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”.

59 Solo of “Star Wars” : HAN

Han Solo is the space smuggler in “Star Wars” played by Harrison Ford. Ford was originally hired by George Lucas just to read lines for actors during auditions for “Star Wars”, but over time Lucas became convinced that Ford was right for the pivotal role of Han Solo.