LA Times Crossword 31 Jul 22, Sunday
Advertisement
Constructed by: Michael Schlossberg
Edited by: Patti Varol
Today’s Theme: Reboots
Themed answers are TV shows, but reinterpreted (REBOOTED) quite literally:
- 23A Show about monks who form a rock group? : BAND OF BROTHERS
- 25A Show about Alfred E. Neuman and company? : MAD MEN
- 37A Show about some St. Louis sluggers and their fixer-upper? : HOUSE OF CARDS
- 55A Show about a mom-and-pop neckwear business? : FAMILY TIES
- 70A Show about mug shot photography? : ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT
- 88A Show about a village and its mountain lion problem? : COUGAR TOWN
- 102A Show about a red sock, a blue sock, and the love they found in the dryer? : THE ODD COUPLE
- 120A Show about a school pep squad? : CHEERS
- 121A Show about Quaker Oats, Mikey, and the partnership that changed cereal forever? : THE FACTS OF LIFE
Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers
Want to discuss the puzzle? Then …
… leave a comment
Bill’s time: 14m 00s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
19 Atlanta Hawks arena until 1997 : OMNI
The Omni Coliseum was an indoor arena in Atlanta mainly used for basketball and hockey games. Opening in 1972, it was home to the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks and NHL’s Atlanta Flames. The Omni closed its doors for the last time 1997, and was demolished the same year. The Philips Arena was its replacement facility, and it was built on the same site. The Philips Arena (later “State Farm Arena”) opened for business in 1999.
The NBA’s Atlanta Hawks started out as the Buffalo Bisons in 1946, although after only a few months the team was moved to Moline, Illinois as the Tri-Cities Blackhawks. The Blackhawks were one of the 17 original teams playing at the founding of the National Basketball Association. There was another move in 1951 and a renaming to the Milwaukee Hawks, and yet again in 1955 when the team became the St. Louis Hawks. The latest move was to Atlanta, in 1968.
22 “__ Bovary” : MADAME
“Madame Bovary” is the most famous novel written by Gustave Flaubert. The title character is a doctor’s wife named Emma Bovary, who lives a luxurious life beyond her means and has many adulterous affairs. The novel had a rousing reception, including an attack by public prosecutors who labeled it as obscene, which I am sure later helped “Madame Bovary” to become a bestseller.
23 Show about monks who form a rock group? : BAND OF BROTHERS
“Band of Brothers” is an outstanding 2001 miniseries based on a 1992 book of the same name by historian Stephen E. Ambrose. Both series and book document follow a company of US soldiers from the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, from jump training through to the end of WWII. “Band of Brothers” was co-created by Tom Hanks and StevenSpielberg, who had collaborated on 1998’s WWII movie “Saving Private Ryan”. Ambrose chose as his title a passage from “Henry V” by William Shakespeare, a speech delivered by the king to his men on the eve of the Battle of Agincourt:
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be rememberèd—
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
25 Show about Alfred E. Neuman and company? : MAD MEN
Alfred E. Neuman is the mascot of “Mad” magazine, although the image of the smiling, jug-eared youth had been around for decades before the magazine. “Mad” first used the likeness in 1955, and young Mr. Neuman has appeared on the cover of almost every issue of the magazine since then. Neuman’s name was inspired by American composer Alfred Newman, a prolific writer of film scores.
“Mad Men” was the flagship show on the AMC television channel for several seasons. Set in the sixties, it’s all about an advertising agency located on Madison Avenue in New York (hence the title). “Mad Men” became the first show created by a basic cable channel to win an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series.
27 Comedian Mandel : HOWIE
Howie Mandel is a Canadian comic. He was a regular on TV a few years ago as host of “Deal or No Deal”, and more recently as a judge on “America’s Got Talent”. I remember Mandel from “St. Elsewhere” in the eighties, which was the first American TV show that I watched regularly when I moved to the US …
34 “Who here hath __ these two days buried”: “Romeo and Juliet” : LAIN
Towards the end of William Shakespeare’s tragedy “Romeo and Juliet”, as Paris and Romeo fight with swords, the watch (“police”) are summoned. By the time the watch arrives on scene, Romeo has killed Paris, Romeo has killed himself by drinking poison, and Juliet has killed herself with a dagger. A watchman discovers the bodies of the two lovers:
Pitiful sight! here lies the county slain,
And Juliet bleeding, warm, and newly dead,
Who here hath lain these two days buried.
Go, tell the prince: run to the Capulets:
Raise up the Montagues:
On seeing the fate of their children, the two families are reconciled and agree to end their feud.
36 “Queer Eye” grooming expert Jonathan Van __ : NESS
Hairdresser Jonathan Van Ness is best known as the grooming expert on the TV show “Queer Eye” (the Netflix revival of the original series). He joined the cast in 2018.
“Queer Eye” is a reality TV show that was launched in 2003 as “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy”. Each episode features a panel of gay professional experts in the fields of fashion and design giving a makeover to a straight man. The show was given a new life in 2018 when it was launched on Netflix as “Queer Eye” with a new “Fab Five” cast.
37 Show about some St. Louis sluggers and their fixer-upper? : HOUSE OF CARDS
The hit TV show “House of Cards” is a political drama that highlights ruthless manipulation within the corridors of power in Washington, D.C. The show is an adaptation of a BBC miniseries of the same name, which in turn is based on a novel by Michael Dobbs.
The St. Louis Cardinals Major League Baseball team plays at Busch Stadium. Busch Stadium is the third stadium in the history of St. Louis to have the Busch name. The first two were named for Gussie Busch, the brewing magnate and former Cardinals team owner. The current stadium is named for the brewery though, and not Gussie per se.
41 “Fiddlesticks!” : NUTS!
We’ve been using “fiddlesticks” to mean “nonsense” since the early 17th century. Prior to that time, “fiddlestick” referred to the bow of a fiddle.
43 Lhasa __ : APSO
The Lhasa apso breed of dog originated in Tibet and is named after “Lhasa” (the capital city) and “apso” (a Tibetan word meaning “bearded”). The Lhasa apso has been around since 800 BC and is one of the oldest breeds in the world, one very closely related to the ancestral wolf.
45 Highway scofflaw : SPEEDER
A scofflaw is someone who flouts the law, although usually the term applies to folks committing misdemeanors such as jaywalking and not paying parking fines.
48 Old dietary std. : RDA
Recommended Daily Allowances (RDAs) were introduced during WWII, and were replaced by Recommended Daily Intakes (RDIs) in 1997.
51 Physicist Nikola : TESLA
Nikola Tesla was born in Serbia, but later moved to the US. Tesla’s work on mechanical and electrical engineering was crucial to the development of alternating current technology, the same technology that is used by equipment at the backbone of modern power generation and distribution systems.
53 Delta deposit : SILT
Today, we mostly think of silt as a deposit of sediment in a river. Back in the mid-1400s, silt was sediment deposited by seawater. It is thought that the word “silt” is related to “salt”, as found in seawater.
A river delta is a triangular landform at the mouth of a river created by the deposition of sediment. The Nile Delta in Northern Egypt is one of the world’s largest river deltas, and covers 150 miles of coastline on the Mediterranean. The most famous “delta” in the United States isn’t actually a delta at all. The Mississippi Delta is an alluvial plain that lies 300 miles north of the river’s actual delta, yet it is known as the “Mississippi River Delta”. Very confusing …
55 Show about a mom-and-pop neckwear business? : FAMILY TIES
“Family Ties” was one of the first TV shows that I enjoyed when I arrived in the US back in 1983. I found the situation very appealing, with two ex-hippie parents facing off against an ultra-conservative son. The main characters in the show were Michael J. Fox as Alex, Meredith Baxter-Birney as Alex’s mom Elyse, and Michael Gross as Alex’s dad Steven. Some future stars had recurring roles as well, including Courteney Cox as one of Alex’s girlfriends and Tom Hanks as Elyse’s young brother.
61 Clog front : TOE
Clogs are shoes made from wood, at least in part. The clog originated as a protective item of footwear for use by farm, factory and mine workers.
62 Letters of urgency : ASAP
As soon as possible (ASAP)
65 NBA Commissioner Silver : ADAM
Adam Silver was appointed NBA commissioner in 2014. He had served in various posts with the league since 1992, and took over as commissioner on the retirement of David Stern.
67 Muted colors : PASTELS
A “pastel” is a crayon made from a “paste” containing a powdered pigment in a binder. The term “pastel” can also be used to describe a work created using pastels.
70 Show about mug shot photography? : ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT
“Arrested Development” is a sitcom that originally aired on Fox from 2003 to 2006. Ron Howard was heavily involved in the show behind the camera, serving as executive producer and also as the show’s narrator. Fifteen new episodes of “Arrested Development” were filmed specifically for release on Netflix in 2013, and there may even be a movie on the way.
A mug shot is a photograph of a person’s face, one often taken for a police record.
76 City near Tahoe : RENO
Reno, Nevada was named in honor of Major General Jesse Lee Reno, a Union officer killed in the Civil War. The city has a famous “Reno Arch”, a structure that stands over the main street. The arch was erected in 1926 to promote an exposition planned for the following year. After the expo, the city council decided to keep the arch and held a competition to decide what wording should be displayed, and the winner was “The Biggest Little City in the World”.
Lake Tahoe (often referred to simply as “Tahoe”) is up in the Sierra Nevada mountains, and is located right on the border between California and Nevada. It is the largest alpine lake in the country, and the largest lake in general behind the five Great Lakes. Tahoe is also the second deepest lake, with only the beautiful Crater Lake in Oregon being deeper. Given its location, there are tall casinos that sit right on the shore on the Nevada side of the state line where gambling is legal.
77 Foil kin : EPEE
The sword known as an épée has a three-sided blade. It is similar to a foil and saber, although the foil and saber have rectangular cross-sections.
78 Cal’s twin, in a Steinbeck novel : ARON
John Steinbeck considered his 1952 novel “East of Eden” to be his magnum opus. Most of the storyline takes place near Salinas, just south of the San Francisco Bay Area. Two of the characters in the story are brothers Cal and Aron Trask, representative of the biblical Cain and Abel.
79 Ortiz of “Ugly Betty” : ANA
Ana Ortiz played the title character’s older sister in the TV series “Ugly Betty”.
“Ugly Betty” is a drama-comedy show that originally aired on television from 2006 to 2010. The show is based on a telenovela soap opera from Colombia called “Yo soy Betty, la fea”. The title role of Betty Suarez is played by America Ferrera.
81 Storage tower : SILO
“Silo” is a Spanish word that we absorbed into English. The term ultimately derives from the Greek “siros”, which described a pit in which one kept corn.
88 Show about a village and its mountain lion problem? : COUGAR TOWN
The sitcom “Cougar Town” stars Courtney Cox as a woman trying to move on with her life after a divorce. The title is a reference to the Cougar, the mascot of the local high school in the fictional Florida town in which the show is set. I saw the show a few times, and failed to link the title with the storyline …
92 Actress Merrill : DINA
Dina Merrill was in 22 movies, including two of my favorites: “Desk Set” with Tracy & Hepburn, and “Operation Petticoat” with Cary Grant. Merrill also carried some sway in the business world. Until 2007, she was on the compensation committee of Lehman Brothers, the merry band that approved all those big bonuses.
95 Hooting bird : OWL
Owls have 14 vertebrae in their necks (compared to our 7). The extra bones in the neck, along with other adaptations allow owls to rotate the head and neck about 270 degrees.
98 Attic pests : MICE
An attic or loft is a room or space located below the roof of a building. The term “attic” is a shortened form of “attic story”, the uppermost story or level of a house. This term “attic story” originally applied to a low, decorative level built on top of the uppermost story behind a building’s decorative facade. This use of decoration at the top of buildings was common in ancient Greece, and was particularly important in the Attica style. That Attica style was so called because it originated in the historical region of Attica that encompassed the city of Athens. And that’s how our attics are linked to ancient Greece.
101 Uneven do : SHAG
A shag cut is a layered hairstyle. Actress Meg Ryan famously sported a shag cut for many years, as did fellow actress Farrah Fawcett.
102 Show about a red sock, a blue sock, and the love they found in the dryer? : THE ODD COUPLE
“The Odd Couple” is a play by the wonderfully talented Neil Simon that was first performed on Broadway, in 1965. This great play was adapted for the big screen in 1968, famously starring Jack Lemmon (as Felix Unger) and Walter Matthau (as Oscar Madison). The success of the play and the film gave rise to an excellent television sitcom that ran from 1970-1975, starring Tony Randall and Jack Klugman. In 1985, Neil Simon even went so far as to adapt the play for an all-female cast, renaming it “The Female Odd Couple”. I’d like to see that one …
114 Zenith’s opposite : NADIR
The nadir is the direction pointing immediately below a particular location (through to the other side of the Earth for example). The opposite direction, that pointing immediately above, is called the zenith. We use the terms “nadir” and “zenith” figuratively to mean the low and high points in a person’s fortunes.
116 Go off-script : AD-LIB
“Ad libitum” is a Latin phrase meaning “at one’s pleasure”. In common usage, the phrase is usually shortened to “ad lib”. On the stage, the concept of an ad lib is very familiar.
120 Show about a school pep squad? : CHEERS
The wonderful sitcom “Cheers” ran for eleven seasons on NBC, from 1982 to 1993. “Cheers” spawned an equally successful spin-off show called “Frasier”, which also ran for eleven seasons and often featured guest appearances of characters from the original “Cheers”. The Cheers bar was styled on the Bull & Finch Pub in Boston (in which I’ve had a pint of Guinness or two!). The owner of the Bull & Finch cleverly agreed to the initial interior and exterior shots, charging only one dollar. Since then he has made millions from selling “Cheers” memorabilia, and also from increased trade.
121 Show about Quaker Oats, Mikey, and the partnership that changed cereal forever? : THE FACTS OF LIFE
The sitcom “The Facts of Life” originally aired from 1979 until 1988. It was a spin-off of the equally successful show “Diff’rent Strokes”. Charlotte Rae was the main actress common to both shows. Rae played Edna Garrett, who was a housekeeper on “Diff’rent Strokes” and a dormitory housemother on “The Facts of Life”.
126 Sniggler’s trap : EEL POT
A sniggler is a person who angles for eels (also called an “eeler”). The term “sniggler” comes from “snig”, a young eel, which in turn is probably related to Old English “snegge” meaning “snail”.
130 Yang counterpart : YIN
The yin and yang can be illustrated using many different metaphors. In one, as the sun shines on a mountain, the side in the shade is the yin and the side in the light is the yang. The yin is also regarded as the feminine side, and the yang the masculine. The yin can also be associated with the moon, while the yang is associated with the sun.
132 Deliver by parachute : DROP
The term “parachute” was coined by Frenchman François Blanchard, from “para-” meaning “defense against” and “chute” meaning “a fall”.
Down
1 Former wrestling star __ Brazil : BOBO
Bobo Brazil was the ring name of professional wrestler Houston Harris. Harris was one of the first African Americans to break into the sport and so earned the title “the Jackie Robinson of professional wrestling”.
2 Muscat’s sultanate : OMAN
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.
3 Writers Patchett and Brashares : ANNS
Ann Patchett is an author who lives in Nashville, Tennessee. Patchett’s most famous work is probably her novel “Bel Canto”, published in 2001. In 2012, “Time” included her in the magazine’s list of 100 most influential people in the world.
Author Ann Brashares writes fiction aimed at young adults. She is best known for her series of novels “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants”. The first book in that series tells the story of four young girls with differing shapes and sizes who find a pair of jeans that fits all four of them perfectly.
6 Tip for a writer : NIB
“Nib” is a Scottish variant of the Old English word “neb”, with both meaning “beak of a bird”. This usage of “nib” as a beak dates back to the 14th century, with “nib” describing the tip of a pen or quill coming a little later, in the early 1600s.
8 HMO alternative : PPO
Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) or Health Maintenance Organization (HMO). Make your choice, if you can …
9 May honoree : MOTHER
Note the official punctuation in “Mother’s Day”, even though one might think it should be “Mothers’ Day”. President Wilson and Anna Jarvis, who created the tradition, specifically wanted Mother’s Day to honor the mothers within each family and not just “mothers” in general, so they went with the “Mother’s Day” punctuation.
14 Flatbread served with tandoori chicken : NAAN
A tandoor is a cylindrical clay or metal oven used in cuisines from several Asian locales, including India.
15 Bells and whistles : ADD-ONS
Something that includes “all the bells and whistles” is complete, with all available accessories.
16 First lady after Bess : MAMIE
Mamie Eisenhower was surely one of the most charming of all the First Ladies of the United States. Ms. Eisenhower suffered from an inner ear complaint called Ménière’s disease which caused her to lose her balance quite often. Because she was unsteady on her feet there were unfounded rumors floating around Washington that Ms. Eisenhower had a drinking problem. People can be very unkind …
Harry Truman and Bess Wallace first met when they were very young children at Sunday school. They were friends right through high school and became engaged in 1918, just before Harry went off to France during WWI, and married the next year. Bess Truman never really took to the Washington scene when she became First Lady and stayed out of the limelight as much as she could. Perhaps that contributed to her longevity. Mrs. Truman lived to the age of 97, making her the longest living First Lady in US history.
21 Guitar Hero combinations : CHORDS
Guitar Hero is an amazingly successful series of video games, first published in 2005. It is the third best selling franchise of video games, after Mario and Madden NFL. Sales have dropped in recent years though, and there are no plans for further releases.
24 Native Nebraskan : OTOE
The Otoe (also “Oto”) Native American tribe originated in the Great Lakes region as part of the Winnebago or Siouan tribes. The group that would become the Otoe broke away from the Winnebago and migrated southwestward, ending up in the Great Plains. In the plains the Otoe adopted a semi-nomadic lifestyle dependent on the horse, with the American bison becoming central to their diet.
31 Heads of cabbage, for short? : CFOS
Chief financial officer (CFO)
Apparently, we sometimes refer to money as “cabbage” because a bunch of green bills resembles a head of cabbage.
32 Celestial event : ECLIPSE
A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes into the shadow cast by the Earth from the light of the Sun, in other words when the Earth is positioned directly between the Sun and the Moon. The more spectacular solar eclipse takes place when the Moon passes in front of the Sun, so that the Earth falls into the shadow cast by the Moon.
35 The Shins’ genre : INDIE POP
The Shins indie rock band was formed in 1996 by singer-songwriter James Mercer, and is based in Portland, Oregon.
39 Cold War letters : USSR
The term “Cold War” was coined by novelist George Orwell in a 1945 essay about the atomic bomb. Orwell described a world under threat of nuclear war as having a “peace that is no peace”, in a permanent state of “cold war”. The specific use of “cold war” to describe the tension between the Eastern bloc and the Western allies is attributed to a 1947 speech by Bernard Baruch, adviser to Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
40 Beach bottle letters : SPF
In theory, the sun protection factor (SPF) is a calibrated measure of the effectiveness of a sunscreen in protecting the skin from harmful UV rays. The idea is that if you wear a lotion with say SPF 20, then it takes 20 times as much UV radiation to cause the skin to burn than it would take without protection. I say just stay out of the sun …
46 Wonderland cake message : EAT ME
In Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”, Alice follows the white rabbit down a rabbit hole and finds a bottle labeled “DRINK ME”. When she drinks the contents, it causes her to shrink. She also sees a cake adorned with the words “EAT ME” written using currants, and when she eats the cake she grows so big she finds it hard to stand up. After eating the cake, she utters the words, “Curiouser and curiouser”.
47 Punk offshoot : EMO
“Emo” is short for “emotional hardcore”.
50 Nile vipers : ASPS
The asp is a venomous snake found in the Nile region of Africa. It is so venomous that the asp was used in ancient Egypt and Greece as a means of execution. Cleopatra observed such executions noting that the venom brought on sleepiness without any painful spasms. When the great queen opted to commit suicide, the asp was therefore her chosen method.
52 __ wrench : ALLEN
The Allen wrench (or “Allen key”, as we call it back in Ireland) is a successful brand of hex wrench that was trademarked in 1943 by the Allen Manufacturing Company of Hartford , Connecticut. However, the hex wrench had in fact been around since the mid-to-late 1800s.
56 Name on four British art galleries : TATE
The museum known as “the Tate” comprises four separate galleries in England. The original Tate gallery was founded by Sir Henry Tate as the National Gallery of British Art. It is located on Millbank in London, on the site of the old Millbank Prison, and is now called Tate Britain. There is also the Tate Liverpool in the north of England that is located in an old warehouse, and the Tate St. Ives in the west country located in an old gas works. My favorite of the Tate galleries is the Tate Modern which lies on the banks of the Thames in London. It’s a beautiful building, a converted power station that you have to see to believe. As of 2018, the Tate Modern was the most visited art museum in the UK.
64 Battlefield board game : STRATEGO
The wonderful board game called Stratego derives from a traditional Chinese game called “Jungle” or “Animal Chess”. The major difference between Stratego and Jungle is that in the latter, the identity of the pieces is not hidden from one’s opponent.
70 Shape hidden in the FedEx logo : ARROW
FedEx began operations in 1973 as Federal Express, but now operates very successfully under it’s more catchy, abbreviated name. Headquartered in Memphis with its “SuperHub” at Memphis International Airport, FedEx is the world’s largest airline in terms of tons of freight flown. And due to the presence of FedEx, Memphis Airport has the largest-volume cargo operation of any airport worldwide.
71 Fauvist painter Dufy : RAOUL
Raoul Dufy was a French painter active in the first half of the 20th century. He was classed as a “fauve”, one of the group of artists known as the “wild beasts”, who emphasized strong color over realism in their works.
74 November meteor shower : LEONIDS
The two most famous meteor showers are the Perseids and Leonids. The Perseid meteor shower is most visible around August 12th each year, and the Leonid meteor shower is most notable around November 17th. The Perseids appear to emanate from the constellation Perseus, and the Leonids from the constellation Leo (hence the names “Perseids” and “Leonids”).
75 __ Tuesday : TACO
Taco Tuesday is a promotion run by many American restaurants, especially in Southern California. Participating establishments offer deals on tacos, and perhaps other Mexican dishes served in tortillas. Apparently, “Taco Tuesday” is a trademark owned by Wyoming-based fast-food restaurant Taco John’s.
82 Spanish citrus fruit : LIMON
In Spanish, “limón” (lemon) is a “fruta” (fruit).
84 Discombobulated : BEFUDDLED
To be befuddled is to be confused. Originally, back in the late 1800s, that confusion was specifically caused by liquor or opium.
To discombobulate is to faze, disconcert, to confuse.
85 Fitbit unit : STEP
Fitbits are wearable activity trackers that are mainly used to track the number of steps walked, although more and more features have been added over time. A Fitbit was even used as evidence in at least one murder case. A Connecticut man claimed that a home intruder had shot and killed his wife. Police used data from the wife’s Fitbit to disprove the husband’s story, and ended up charging him with the murder.
86 Asian lake memorialized by UNESCO : ARAL
The Aral Sea is a great example of how humankind can have a devastating effect on the environment. In the early sixties the Aral Sea covered 68,000 square miles of Central Asia. Soviet irrigation projects drained the lake to such an extent that today the total area is less than 7,000 square miles, with 90% of the lake now completely dry. Sad …
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) initiated its Memory of the World program in 1992. The goal of the program is to preserve and provide access to the world’s documentary heritage, and also to increase awareness of the existence and threats to that heritage.
89 Volcanic debris : ASH
Our word “volcano” comes from “Vulcano”, the name of a volcanic island off the coast of Italy. The island’s name comes from Vulcan, the Roman god of fire. The Romans believed that the island of Vulcano was the chimney of the forge belonging to the god Vulcan. The Romans also believed that the eruptions on Mount Etna in Sicily were caused by Vulcan getting angry and working his forge so hard that sparks and smoke flew out of the top of the volcano.
91 Volleyball court divider : NET
Indoor volleyball was invented in 1895 and was originally called “mintonette”, a reference to the related game of “badminton”. The variant called beach volleyball originated in 1915 on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, but was popularized on the beaches of Santa Monica starting in 1920.
93 Electrically flexible : AC/DC
There are two types of electric current. The 120V supply that is distributed throughout our homes provides us with alternating current (AC). The AC current moves back and forth every 1/60 second, in two different directions. AC is great for transmission around the country, and that’s the main reason that AC is piped into our homes. However, all of our electronic devices need direct current (DC), current that flows in one direction. That’s why those devices have adapters at the end of a power cable. The 120V AC supply is converted by the adapter into the DC supply used by the device.
103 Continental travel pass : EURAIL
In my days as a student, the way to backpack around Europe was using a Europass. Nowadays that is known as a Eurail pass. The Eurail pass gives you access to most trains (and some shipping lines) right across the continent.
104 Snowman in “Frozen” : OLAF
In the 2013 animated film “Frozen”, Olaf is a happy-go-lucky snowman who provides a lot of comic relief in the movie. Olaf is voiced by actor and comedian Josh Gad.
106 “Straight Outta Compton” actor __ Jackson Jr. : O’SHEA
Rapper Ice Cube’s real name is O’Shea Jackson. Since the year 2000, Ice Cube has gradually moved away from rap music and focuses more on acting. The 2015 movie “Straight Outta Compton” tells the story of the gangsta rap group N.W.A., of which Ice Cube was a member. Ice Cube co-produced the film, and O’Shea Jackson Jr. played his real-life Dad on screen.
107 Bruins legend Cam : NEELY
Cam Neely is a retired professional hockey player from Comox, British Columbia. Having played for the Vancouver Canucks and the Boston Bruins, Neely was named president of the Bruins team in 2010.
109 On edge : ANTSY
The word “antsy” embodies the concept of “having ants in one’s pants”, meaning being nervous and fidgety. However, “antsy” has been used in English since the 1830s, whereas “ants in the pants” originated a century later.
110 “Chicago Hope” Emmy winner : LAHTI
Christine Lahti is an actress probably best known for playing Dr. Kate Austen on the TV medical drama “Chicago Hope”. If you read “The Huffington Post” you might run across her as well, as Lahti is a contributing blogger.
117 Perjurer : LIAR
An act of perjury is the willful giving of false testimony under oath. The term “perjury” ultimately comes from the Latin “per” meaning “away” and “iurare” meaning “to swear”.
119 [The light’s green!] : BEEP!
The first traffic lights date back to 1868 when they were installed outside the Houses of Parliament in London. They resembled the signals already in use for trains, with semaphore arms and red and green gas lamps for nighttime use. That first system was operated manually, by a policeman at the base. Sadly, one police officer was killed just one year after the light’s installation, when the gas system exploded.
122 Cedar Rapids college : COE
Coe College is a private school in Cedar Rapids, Iowa that was founded in 1851. Coe is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church.
Cedar Rapids is the second largest city in the state of Iowa. It is named for rapids on the Cedar River on which the city is located. The river itself was named for the red cedars growing along the river’s banks.
123 Blast letters : TNT
“TNT” is an abbreviation for “trinitrotoluene”. Trinitrotoluene was first produced in 1863 by the German chemist Joseph Wilbrand, who developed it for use as a yellow dye. TNT is relatively difficult to detonate so it was on the market as a dye for some years before its more explosive properties were discovered.
Read on, or …
… return to top of page
Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1 Wild hog : BOAR
5 Latish lunch hr. : ONE PM
10 Place for “me time” : SPA
13 Inflame with love : ENAMOR
19 Atlanta Hawks arena until 1997 : OMNI
20 Cause of in-flight turbulence : AIR POCKET
22 “__ Bovary” : MADAME
23 Show about monks who form a rock group? : BAND OF BROTHERS
25 Show about Alfred E. Neuman and company? : MAD MEN
26 Start : ONSET
27 Comedian Mandel : HOWIE
28 Consecrate : ANOINT
29 Charming person? : SORCERER
34 “Who here hath __ these two days buried”: “Romeo and Juliet” : LAIN
36 “Queer Eye” grooming expert Jonathan Van __ : NESS
37 Show about some St. Louis sluggers and their fixer-upper? : HOUSE OF CARDS
41 “Fiddlesticks!” : NUTS!
43 Lhasa __ : APSO
44 Tea party attendee : DOLL
45 Highway scofflaw : SPEEDER
48 Old dietary std. : RDA
51 Physicist Nikola : TESLA
53 Delta deposit : SILT
55 Show about a mom-and-pop neckwear business? : FAMILY TIES
57 Sign up : ENROLL
59 Ceremonial pile : PYRE
61 Clog front : TOE
62 Letters of urgency : ASAP
63 Gal : LASS
65 NBA Commissioner Silver : ADAM
67 Muted colors : PASTELS
70 Show about mug shot photography? : ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT
75 Fitness coach : TRAINER
76 City near Tahoe : RENO
77 Foil kin : EPEE
78 Cal’s twin, in a Steinbeck novel : ARON
79 Ortiz of “Ugly Betty” : ANA
81 Storage tower : SILO
83 Pats gently : DABS AT
88 Show about a village and its mountain lion problem? : COUGAR TOWN
92 Actress Merrill : DINA
94 Old-school : RETRO
95 Hooting bird : OWL
96 Tiny garden planting : SEEDLET
98 Attic pests : MICE
100 Exploit : FEAT
101 Uneven do : SHAG
102 Show about a red sock, a blue sock, and the love they found in the dryer? : THE ODD COUPLE
105 One-word warning : DON’T!
108 Black shade : COAL
111 Loses enthusiasm : RUNS COLD
112 “Ooh! There!” : I SEE IT!
114 Zenith’s opposite : NADIR
116 Go off-script : AD-LIB
120 Show about a school pep squad? : CHEERS
121 Show about Quaker Oats, Mikey, and the partnership that changed cereal forever? : THE FACTS OF LIFE
126 Sniggler’s trap : EEL POT
127 Network announcement : STATION ID
128 Facility : EASE
129 Declines : SAYS NO
130 Yang counterpart : YIN
131 Give some space : LET BE
132 Deliver by parachute : DROP
Down
1 Former wrestling star __ Brazil : BOBO
2 Muscat’s sultanate : OMAN
3 Writers Patchett and Brashares : ANNS
4 Goes it alone : RIDES SOLO
5 Dolt : OAF
6 Tip for a writer : NIB
7 Make a typo, say : ERR
8 HMO alternative : PPO
9 May honoree : MOTHER
10 Distort, as data : SKEW
11 Danger : PERIL
12 Utterly lost : AT SEA
13 Name that means “God is with us” : EMMANUEL
14 Flatbread served with tandoori chicken : NAAN
15 Bells and whistles : ADD-ONS
16 First lady after Bess : MAMIE
17 Signs : OMENS
18 Uses for a fee : RENTS
21 Guitar Hero combinations : CHORDS
24 Native Nebraskan : OTOE
30 Baton : ROD
31 Heads of cabbage, for short? : CFOS
32 Celestial event : ECLIPSE
33 Come from behind : RALLY
35 The Shins’ genre : INDIE POP
37 Not fancy : HATE
38 Double-click, say : OPEN
39 Cold War letters : USSR
40 Beach bottle letters : SPF
42 Attempt : TRY
46 Wonderland cake message : EAT ME
47 Punk offshoot : EMO
48 Ascended : RISEN
49 Passed out : DEALT
50 Nile vipers : ASPS
52 __ wrench : ALLEN
54 Sports page news : TRADE
56 Name on four British art galleries : TATE
58 Use a surgical beam : LASE
60 Idyllic spots : EDENS
64 Battlefield board game : STRATEGO
66 Elude : AVOID
68 Copied : APED
69 Makeup mishap : SMEAR
70 Shape hidden in the FedEx logo : ARROW
71 Fauvist painter Dufy : RAOUL
72 Key holder : RING
73 Southern inflection : DRAWL
74 November meteor shower : LEONIDS
75 __ Tuesday : TACO
80 Silent assent : NOD
82 Spanish citrus fruit : LIMON
84 Discombobulated : BEFUDDLED
85 Fitbit unit : STEP
86 Asian lake memorialized by UNESCO : ARAL
87 Pledge drive freebie : TOTE
89 Volcanic debris : ASH
90 Is affected by : REACTS TO
91 Volleyball court divider : NET
93 Electrically flexible : AC/DC
97 Economy : THRIFT
99 Earth-friendly prefix : ECO-
101 Brews : STEEPS
103 Continental travel pass : EURAIL
104 Snowman in “Frozen” : OLAF
105 Chops up : DICES
106 “Straight Outta Compton” actor __ Jackson Jr. : O’SHEA
107 Bruins legend Cam : NEELY
109 On edge : ANTSY
110 “Chicago Hope” Emmy winner : LAHTI
113 Wrinkle remover : IRON
115 Faculty head : DEAN
117 Perjurer : LIAR
118 “In that case … ” : IF SO …
119 [The light’s green!] : BEEP!
122 Cedar Rapids college : COE
123 Blast letters : TNT
124 Bro or sis : SIB
125 Tribute in verse : ODE
Leave a comment (below), or …
… return to top of page
The post LA Times Crossword 31 Jul 22, Sunday appeared first on LAXCrossword.com.
from LAXCrossword.com https://ift.tt/TQysmqb
Comments
Post a Comment