LA Times Crossword 29 Apr 20, Wednesday

Constructed by: Bruce Haight
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Reveal Answer: Movie Trailer

The TRAILING four letters in each themed answer spell out the name of a famous MOVIE:

61A Preview … and what the ending letters of the four other longest answers comprise? : MOVIE TRAILER

18A Hot cereal brand since 1893 : CREAM OF WHEAT (giving “Heat”)
26A Hard-won struggle reminders : BATTLE SCARS (giving “Cars”)
38A Page on a novelist’s website : ABOUT THE AUTHOR (giving “Thor”)
52A Military sanction : ARMS EMBARGO (giving “Argo”)

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Bill’s time: 8m 30s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Top banana : MR BIG

The expression “top banana” is used to mean “the main man” or “the main woman”. The first person to use “top banana” was supposedly Vaudeville performer Harry Steppe in 1927, who applied the term to the top comic on the bill. The phrase comes from a comedy routine in which three comics struggle to share two bananas.

16 Ancient market : AGORA

In early Greece, an agora was a place of assembly. The assemblies held there were often quite formal, perhaps for the reading of a proclamation. Later in Greek history, things became less formal as the agora evolved into a marketplace. Our contemporary word “agoraphobia” comes from these agorae, in the sense that an agoraphobe has a fear of open spaces, a fear of “public meeting places”.

18 Hot cereal brand since 1893 : CREAM OF WHEAT (giving “Heat”)

Cream of Wheat is a breakfast food that was introduced at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Looking similar to grits, it is a porridge mix known as “farina”, made from wheat semolina. Nowadays, we can also buy a similar product called Cream of Rice.

“Heat” is a 1995 action movie starring Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Val Kilmer. De Niro plays an LAPD detective on the trail of a big-time thief played by Al Pacino. The storyline is based on the real-world interactions between Chicago cop Chuck Adamson and ex-Alcatraz inmate Neil McCauley.

20 “Baby Cobra” stand-up comedian Wong : ALI

Ali Wong is a stand-up comedian from San Francisco who is a protégé of Chris Rock. She made two very successful Netflix stand-up specials “Baby Cobra” and “Hard Knock Wife”. She also worked as a writer for the hit sitcom “Fresh Off the Boat”.

21 Fish that may attach itself to a 68-Across : REMORA
(68A 21-Across carrier : SHARK)

Remoras are also called “suckerfish”, which name is descriptive of one of the fish’s basic behaviors. One of the remoras dorsal fins is in the shape of a “sucker”, allowing it to take a firm hold on a larger marine animal, hitching a ride.

24 Sit-up targets : ABS

The abdominal muscles (abs) are more correctly referred to as the rectus abdominis muscles. They might be referred to as a “six-pack”, or even a “ten-pack”, in a person who has developed the muscles and who has low body fat. In my case, more like a keg …

26 Hard-won struggle reminders : BATTLE SCARS (giving “Cars”)

“Cars” is a 2006 animated feature from Pixar. The great cast of voice actors includes Paul Newman in his last movie role before he passed away in 2008.

35 Scandinavian coastal feature : FJORD

A drowned valley might be called a ria or a fjord, and both are formed as sea levels rise. A ria is a drowned valley created by river erosion, and a fjord is a drowned valley created by glaciation.

Strictly speaking, Scandinavia is a region in Northern Europe that covers the kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The broader region that includes Finland and Iceland is referred to locally as “the Nordic countries”.

36 Patio-brewed drink : SUN TEA

Sun tea is tea that is made simply by dropping tea into water and letting it “brew” in the sun for a few hours, and then adding ice. A blog reader has kindly pointed out that he was told by a doctor that sun tea has the potential to be dangerous. The sun-heated brew is warm enough and sits long enough to incubate any bacterial contamination that may be present. I think I’ll stick to my regular iced tea that is speedily brewed at high temperature …

38 Page on a novelist’s website : ABOUT THE AUTHOR (giving “Thor”)

The 2011 movie “Thor” is yet another film based on a comic book hero. Even though I won’t be seeing it (I don’t do comics), I must admit it does have an impressive cast. Chris Hemsworth plays Thor, supported by Natalie Portman, Rene Russo, Idris Elba and Anthony Hopkins. And to crown it all, Kenneth Branagh is the director.

44 Birthstone after opal : TOPAZ

Topaz is a semiprecious stone made from silicate containing aluminum and fluorine. Topaz is the state gemstone of Utah, and the rare blue topaz is the state gemstone of Texas.

46 Most-traded Latin American currency : PESO

The peso is used in many Spanish-speaking countries around the world. The coin originated in Spain where the word “peso” means “weight”. The original peso was what we know in English as a “piece of eight”, a silver coin of a specific weight that had a nominal value of eight “reales”.

50 Venezuelan herder : LLANERO

A llanero is a herdsman from Venezuela or Colombia. “Llanero” comes from “Llanos”, the South American grasslands. “Llano” is the Spanish word for “plain”.

52 Military sanction : ARMS EMBARGO (giving “Argo”)

“Embargo” and “blockade” are two similar yet different terms. An embargo is a legal prohibition of trade with a particular country, whilst a blockade is an act of war, a militarily enforced prevention of the movement of goods and services. The term “embargo” came into English from Spanish, in the late 16th century.

“Argo” is a 2012 movie that is based on the true story of the rescue of six diplomats hiding out during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis. The film was directed by and stars Ben Affleck and is produced by Grant Heslov and George Clooney, the same pair who produced the excellent “Good Night, and Good Luck”. I highly recommend “Argo”, although I found the scenes of religious fervor to be very frightening …

55 Word between surnames : NEE

“Née” is the French word for “born” when referring to a female. The male equivalent is “né”. The term “née” is mainly used in English when referring to a married woman’s birth name, assuming that she has adopted her husband’s name, e.g. Michelle Obama née Robinson, and Melania Trump née Knavs.

60 Women’s History Mo. : MAR

Women’s History Month is celebrated annually in October, and coincides with International Women’s Day on March 8th.

61 Preview … and what the ending letters of the four other longest answers comprise? : MOVIE TRAILER

The term “trailer” was originally used in the film industry to describe advertisements for upcoming features. These trailers were originally shown at the end of a movie being screened, hence the name. This practice quickly fell out of favor as theater patrons usually left at the end of the movie without paying much attention to the trailers. So, the trailers were moved to the beginning of the show, but the term “trailer” persisted.

67 DOJ bureau : ATF

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) today is part of the Department of Justice (DOJ). The ATF has its roots in the Department of Treasury dating back to 1886 when it was known as the Bureau of Prohibition. “Explosives” was added to the ATF’s name when the bureau was moved under the Department of Justice (DOJ) as part of the reorganization called for in the Homeland Security Act of 2002.

70 Rapper Lil __ X : NAS

“Lil Nas X” is the stage name of rapper Montero Lamar Hill. He was born and raised just outside of Atlanta. His first hit was “Old Town Road”, which is classified as country rap.

Down

1 Soft shoe : 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.

2 Mil. time off : R’N’R

Rest and relaxation/recuperation/recreation (R&R, R‘n’R)

4 “Dies __”: hymn : IRAE

“Dies Irae” is Latin for “Day of Wrath”. It is the name of a famous melody in Gregorian Chant, one that is often used as part of the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass.

5 Garland, at birth : GUMM

Actress Judy Garland’s real name was Frances Gumm. Garland was respected and loved both within and without the entertainment industry. She was the youngest recipient, at 39 years old, of the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement in the motion picture industry.

8 One of the Pep Boys : MOE

The Pep Boys automotive stores started out in Philadelphia when four friends pooled their money ($800, in 1921) to open an auto parts store. The name “Pep” was taken from a Pep Valve grinding compound that they carried. They changed the name to Pep Boys as at least one local used to refer to the store as “the boys at Pep”. One of the friends cashed out of the business, and the remaining trio eventually rebranded the store as “The Pep Boys – Manny, Moe & Jack”.

9 Half a bikini : BRA

The origin of the word “bikini”, describing a type of bathing suit, seems very uncertain. My favorite story is that it is named after the Bikini Atoll, site of American A-bomb tests in the forties and fifties. The name “bikini” was chosen for the swim-wear because of the “explosive” effect it had on men who saw a woman wearing the garment!

10 Hall partner : OATES

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”.

11 “__, black sheep … ” : BAA, BAA

The old English nursery rhyme “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep” is usually sung as:

Baa, baa, black sheep,
Have you any wool?
Yes, sir, yes, sir,
Three bags full;
One for the master,
And one for the dame,
And one for the little boy
Who lives down the lane.

The tune that accompanies the rhyme is a variant of the French melody “Ah! Vous dirai-je, Maman”, which we know best in English as the tune for “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”.

12 Mideast fleet : OILERS

An oiler is an oil tanker, an ocean-going vessel used to transport crude oil.

15 Gaming rookies : NOOBS

“Noob” is a not-so-nice slang term for a “newbie”, and often refers to someone who is new to an online community.

The term “rookie”, used for a raw recruit, first appeared in Rudyard Kipling’s collection of songs and poems called the “Barrack-Room Ballads”, which was originally published in 1892.

23 Carson’s sidekick : MCMAHON

Ed McMahon was Johnny Carson’s sidekick on “The Tonight Show” (Here’s Johnny!). McMahon was trained as a fighter pilot in WWII, but did not see action. However he saw a lot of action in the following conflict as he did fly 85 combat missions in Korea.

25 Westernmost Mexican state, familiarly : BAJA

Baja California is both the most northern and the most western of the Mexican states. The name translates from Spanish as “Lower California”.

28 “Big Eyes” singer Del Rey : LANA

“Lana Del Rey” is the stage name of singer/songwriter Elizabeth Grant. Del Rey calls herself a “self-styled gangsta Nancy Sinatra”. Nice …

“Big Eyes” is a 2014 movie about the artist Margaret Keane (played by Amy Adams). Margaret’s husband Walter Keane (played by Christoph Waltz) fraudulently claimed that it was him who actually created the paintings. The title “Big Eyes” refers to the exaggerated size of the eyes of the subjects in Keane’s paintings. The movie’s title song was co-written and performed by Lana Del Rey.

29 Dramatic final question : 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.

32 For two, in music : A DUE

“A due” is a musical term meaning “together”, and literally translates from Italian as “by two”.

36 Biblical queendom : SHEBA

Sheba is referenced in the Bible several times. The Queen of Sheba is mentioned as someone who traveled to Jerusalem to behold the fame of King Solomon. No one knows for sure where the kingdom of Sheba was located, although there is evidence that it was actually the ancient Semitic civilization of Saba. The Sabeans lived in what today is Yemen, on the Arabian Peninsula.

37 Bluesy James : ETTA

“Etta James” was the stage name of celebrated blues and soul singer Jamesetta Hawkins. James’ most famous recording was her 1960 hit “At Last”, which made it into the pop charts. James performed “At Last” at the age of 71 in 2009 on the reality show “Dancing with the Stars”, which was to be her final television appearance. She passed away in 2012.

40 Salt Lake daily, familiarly : TRIB

“The Salt Lake Tribune” is the largest-circulation daily newspaper in Salt Lake City. Known locally as “The Trib”, it was founded in 1870 as the “Mormon Tribune”.

45 Kravitz of “Big Little Lies” : ZOE

Zoë Kravitz is an actress and singer. Zoe has a couple of famous parents:, namely musician Lenny Kravitz and actress Lisa Bonet.

“Big Little Lies” is a 2017 TV miniseries that is based on a 2014 novel of the same name. It stars Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon and Shailene Woodley as three women who, while dealing with their own emotional problems, find themselves involved in a murder investigation. I haven’t seen this one, but hear very good things …

46 Video game with a maze : PAC-MAN

The Pac-Man arcade game was first released in Japan in 1980, and is as popular today as it ever was. The game features characters that are maneuvered around the screen to eat up dots and earn points. The name comes from the Japanese folk hero “Paku”, known for his voracious appetite. The spin-off game called Ms. Pac-Man was released in 1981.

47 List of slips : ERRATA

“Errata” is the past participle of the Latin word “errare” meaning “to err”. We use “errata” (singular “erratum”) to describe a list of errors that have been noted in some publication.

48 Gargamel foes : SMURFS

Gargamel is the evil wizard who is the sworn enemy of the Smurfs, the little blue people created by the Belgian cartoonist Peyo. Gargamel is on a quest to capture enough Smurfs so that he could use them as an ingredient in a potion that would turn base metal into gold.

50 Rainbow flag letters : LGBT

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT)

The best-known rainbow flag is the one representing gay pride. Such usage of the rainbow flag was popularized in 1978 by artist Gilbert Baker. The varying colors of the flag represent the diversity of the gay community.

51 Tours can be found on it : LOIRE

The Loire is the longest river in France. It is so long that it drains one-fifth of the nation’s land mass. The Loire rises in the southeast, in the Cevennes mountain range, then heads north then due west, emptying into the Bay of Biscay at the city of Nantes. The Loire Valley is home to some of France’s most famous wine production, and includes the wine regions of Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé and Muscadet.

Tours is the largest city in the Centre region of France. Sitting on the Loire river, it is said that the people of Tours speak the “purest” form of French in the whole country. The French spoken by a local is also said to be free of any accent.

53 Horror film loc. : ELM ST

“A Nightmare on Elm Street” is a Wes Craven slasher-horror film that was released in 1984. As I don’t do “slasher” or “horror”, I was surprised to learn that Johnny Depp was in the movie, making his feature film debut.

58 __ the Conqueror, Marvel supervillain : KANG

Kang the Conqueror is a character created by Marvel Comics, and a villain. Kang doesn’t have any superpowers, but is an evil genius.

59 Celt’s land : EIRE

“Éire”, is the Irish word for “Ireland”. The related “Erin” is an anglicized version of “Éire” and actually corresponds to “Éirinn”, the dative case of “Éire”.

The Celts are a very broad group of people across Europe who are linked by common languages. The original Celts were largely absorbed by other cultures, although a relatively modern revival of the “Celtic identity” is alive and well in Britain and Ireland. Such Celtic peoples today are mainly found in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Brittany in France.

63 Chocolate factory fixture : VAT

Chocolate is made from the seeds of the Theobroma cacao tree. The seeds are very bitter and the traditional drink made with the seed was called “xocolatl” by the Aztecs, meaning “bitter water”. Our word “chocolate” comes from “xocolatl”.

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Top banana : MR BIG
6 Egg size : JUMBO
11 Wrap with feathers : BOA
14 Like some close ball games : ONE-RUN
16 Ancient market : AGORA
17 Objective : AIM
18 Hot cereal brand since 1893 : CREAM OF WHEAT (giving “Heat”)
20 “Baby Cobra” stand-up comedian Wong : ALI
21 Fish that may attach itself to a 68-Across : REMORA
22 Implant : EMBED
24 Sit-up targets : ABS
26 Hard-won struggle reminders : BATTLE SCARS (giving “Cars”)
30 Got another opinion from : RAN PAST
33 Subway critter : RAT
34 Sail support : MAST
35 Scandinavian coastal feature : FJORD
36 Patio-brewed drink : SUN TEA
38 Page on a novelist’s website : ABOUT THE AUTHOR (giving “Thor”)
43 Took a curious look : PEERED
44 Birthstone after opal : TOPAZ
46 Most-traded Latin American currency : PESO
49 Part of a cage : RIB
50 Venezuelan herder : LLANERO
52 Military sanction : ARMS EMBARGO (giving “Argo”)
55 Word between surnames : NEE
56 Mean : CRUEL
57 Motor-assisted rides : E-BIKES
60 Women’s History Mo. : MAR
61 Preview … and what the ending letters of the four other longest answers comprise? : MOVIE TRAILER
67 DOJ bureau : ATF
68 21-Across carrier : SHARK
69 Dress like a judge : ENROBE
70 Rapper Lil __ X : NAS
71 Handy bags : TOTES
72 Manage : GET BY

Down

1 Soft shoe : MOC
2 Mil. time off : R’N’R
3 Smug brew “expert” : BEER SNOB
4 “Dies __”: hymn : IRAE
5 Garland, at birth : GUMM
6 Talk endlessly to : JAW AT
7 “I hate it” : UGH
8 One of the Pep Boys : MOE
9 Half a bikini : BRA
10 Hall partner : OATES
11 “__, black sheep … ” : BAA, BAA
12 Mideast fleet : OILERS
13 In the center of : AMIDST
15 Gaming rookies : NOOBS
19 __ party : FRAT
23 Carson’s sidekick : MCMAHON
24 Yelp alternative : ARF
25 Westernmost Mexican state, familiarly : BAJA
27 Made level, with “up” : TRUED
28 “Big Eyes” singer Del Rey : LANA
29 Dramatic final question : ET TU?
31 Request a hand? : PROPOSE
32 For two, in music : A DUE
36 Biblical queendom : SHEBA
37 Bluesy James : ETTA
39 Stretch in office : TERM
40 Salt Lake daily, familiarly : TRIB
41 Available schedule hour : OPEN SLOT
42 Burger order : RARE
45 Kravitz of “Big Little Lies” : ZOE
46 Video game with a maze : PAC-MAN
47 List of slips : ERRATA
48 Gargamel foes : SMURFS
50 Rainbow flag letters : LGBT
51 Tours can be found on it : LOIRE
53 Horror film loc. : ELM ST
54 Gives a strong impression (of) : REEKS
58 __ the Conqueror, Marvel supervillain : KANG
59 Celt’s land : EIRE
62 “Now I get it!” : OHO!
63 Chocolate factory fixture : VAT
64 Anger : IRE
65 Recede : EBB
66 King of Spain : REY

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