LA Times Crossword 28 Sep 22, Wednesday

Constructed by: Brooke Husic
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Mixed Results

Themed answers each include the letter string “RESULT”, but with the order MIXED:

50A Ambiguous outcome, and what the circled letters literally contain : MIXED RESULTS

20A Fudge-and-caramel ice cream dish : TURTLE SUNDAE
26A Regulations for a big contest : TOURNAMENT RULES
44A Gradually and reliably : SLOWLY BUT SURELY

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Bill’s time: 7m 03s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Enthusiast : BUFF

A buff or nut is someone who is extremely enthusiastic and knowledgeable about a subject. For example, one might be a movie buff, or perhaps a baseball nut.

10 Member of an ancient religion that values nonviolence : JAIN

Jainism is a religion based in India in which the faithful practice an ascetic way of life and honor nonviolence. Dating back perhaps to the 9th century BCE, it is one of the oldest religions practiced today.

15 “__ Man”: Village People hit : MACHO

“Macho Man” is a 1978 song written and recorded by the disco group Village People. It was the group’s first song to chart in the US.

Village People is a disco group formed in New York City in 1977. From day one, the band’s act and music was aimed at the gay community. The name refers to New York’s Greenwich Village, which at the time had a large gay population. The group’s members dressed up as characters associated with stereotypical gay culture, including a cop, Native American, GI, construction worker and cowboy. The biggest hits for Village People are “Y.M.C.A.” and “In the Navy”.

17 WNBA alum Barnes who coaches the Arizona Wildcats : ADIA

Adia Barnes is a former WNBA player who was appointed head coach of the University of Arizona Wildcats women’s basketball team in 2016. Earlier in her career, Barnes played internationally for Dynamo Kiev in Ukraine, and also turned out for several Euroleague teams. She is married to a basketball coach she met in Italy.

18 Skateboard stunt : OLLIE

An ollie is a skateboarding trick invented in 1976 by Alan “Ollie” Gelfand. Apparently it’s a way of lifting the board off the ground, while standing on it, without touching the board with one’s hands. Yeah, I could do that …

20 Fudge-and-caramel ice cream dish : TURTLE SUNDAE

A sundae made with vanilla ice cream, hot fudge and caramel sauces, and toasted pecans is known as a turtle sundae. The name comes from the Turtles brand of candy, which are turtle-shaped and made with pecans and caramel dipped in chocolate.

23 Bubble tea pearls : BOBA

Bubble tea, sometimes called “boba tea”, is a tea-based drink from Taiwan. The “bubbles” are chewy tapioca balls that are usually added to the drink.

24 Abu Dhabi’s country: Abbr. : UAE

Abu Dhabi is one of the seven Emirates that make up the federation known as the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The two largest members of the UAE (geographically) are Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the only two of the seven members that have veto power over UAE policy. Before 1971, the UAE was a British Protectorate, a collection of sheikdoms. The sheikdoms entered into a maritime truce with Britain in 1835, after which they became known as the Trucial States, derived from the word “truce”.

34 “Tomorrow” musical : ANNIE

“Tomorrow” is a song written for the Broadway musical “Annie”. The musical is based on the Harold Gray comic strip “Little Orphan Annie”. There were two subsequent film adaptations, both really quite successful, including one released in 1982 directed by John Huston of all people. It was the only musical that he ever directed.

35 Branch of Islam : SHIA

The Islamic sects of Sunni and Shia Muslims differ in the belief of who should have taken over leadership of the Muslim faithful after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Followers of the Sunni tradition agree with the decision that the Prophet Muhammad’s confidante Abu Bakr was the right choice to become the first Caliph of the Islamic nation. Followers of the Shia tradition believe that leadership should have stayed within the Prophet Muhammad’s own family, and favored the Prophet’s son-in-law Ali.

36 Body spray brand : AXE

Axe is a brand of male grooming products. It is sold under the name Lynx in some parts of the world.

37 500 sheets of paper : REAM

A ream is 500 sheets of paper. As there were 24 sheets in a quire, and 20 quires made up a ream, there used to be 480 sheets in a ream. Ever since the standard was changed to 500, a 480-sheet packet of paper has been called a “short ream”. We also use the term “reams” to mean a great amount, evolving from the idea of a lot of printed material.

40 Organ component : PIPE

The organ that we often see in churches, synagogues and concert halls is a pipe organ. Sound is produced by pressurized air driven through particular pipes selected by keys on a keyboard.

42 Auth. unknown : ANON

Anonymous (anon.)

49 Units of resistance : OHMS

The unit of electrical resistance is the ohm (with the symbol omega) named after German physicist Georg Simon Ohm. Ohm was the guy who established experimentally that the amount of current flowing through a circuit is directly proportional to the voltage applied, (V=IR) a relationship that every school kid knows as Ohm’s Law.

57 Dreary and dull : DRAB

We now use the word “drab” to mean “dull, cheerless”. Back in the late 17th century, “drab” was the color of natural, undyed cloth.

61 Ames’s state : IOWA

The Iowa city of Ames was founded as a stop on the Cedar Rapids and Missouri Railroad in 1864. It was named for US Congressman Oakes Ames from the state of Massachusetts in honor of the role that Ames played in the building of the transcontinental railroad.

62 Coffee, in slang : JAVA

Back in 1850, the name “java” was given to a type of coffee grown on the island of Java, and the more general usage of the term spread from then.

63 Golf course halves : NINES

There’s an urban myth that the standard number of holes on a golf course is 18 because it takes 18 shots to polish off a fifth of scotch whisky. However, the truth is that the standard number of holes in the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland happened to settle down over time at 18, and that standard was adopted all around the world.

64 Pre-calc math course : TRIG

Trigonometry (trig) is a branch of mathematics dealing with triangles, and calculations based on the relationship between a triangle’s angles and the lengths of its sides.

66 Grind, as molars : GNASH

Molars are grinding teeth. The term “molar” comes from the Latin “mola” meaning “millstone”.

67 Creator of a Sonic boom? : SEGA

Sonic the Hedgehog is a title character in a videogame and the mascot of Sega, the computer game developer. Sonic was set up as a rival to Nintendo’s mascot Mario.

Down

1 V-shaped sitting pose in yoga : BOAT

The yoga pose known as navasana, or boat pose, is a seated position. The body assumes a v-shape, with the legs raised while straight, and the torso tilted backwards allowing balance on the sitting bones.

2 Language spoken by Kamala Khan’s family on “Ms. Marvel” : URDU

The comic superhero Ms. Marvel was introduced in 1968 as a female counterpart to Captain Marvel. The name “Ms. Marvel” has been applied to several characters in the Marvel Universe since then.

5 Slide show? : AMOEBA

An ameba (also “amoeba”) is a single-celled microorganism. The name comes from the Greek “amoibe”, meaning change. The name is quite apt, as the cell changes shape readily as the ameba moves, eats and reproduces.

Microscope slides are thin pieces of glass on which are mounted samples for examination. Often a “cover slip”, a smaller and thinner sheet of glass, is placed on top of the sample. Originally called “sliders”, such specimens would “slide” into the gap between the stage and the objective lens on a microscope.

6 Fragrant sap : BALSAM

The Balsam fir is an evergreen tree that is native to eastern and central North America. The Balsam is commonly used as a Christmas tree, especially in the northeastern US.

7 Org. with a Reproductive Freedom Project : ACLU

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) launched its Reproductive Freedom Project in 1974. It is focused on defending the rights of individuals to abortions, birth control and sexual education.

10 Capital of Alaska : JUNEAU

Given that it’s the capital of the vast state of Alaska, it is perhaps not surprising to learn that the municipality of Juneau is almost as big as the area of the states of Rhode Island and Delaware combined. And yet, Juneau only has a population of about 31,000 people!

11 Gorilla, e.g. : APE

The gorilla is the largest primate still in existence, and is one of the nearest living species to humans. Molecular biology studies have shown that our nearest relatives are in fact the species in the genus Pan (the chimpanzee and the bonobo), which split from the human branch of the family 4-6 million years ago. Gorillas and humans diverged at a point about 7 million years ago. The term “gorilla” derives from the Greek “gorillai” meaning “tribe of hairy women”. Wow …!

12 Cards with pics : IDS

Identity document (ID)

13 “__ all heroes wear capes” : NOT

The phrase “not all heroes wear capes” usually refers to someone who performs a selfless act. The idea is that one doesn’t have to be someone like Superman in order to be a hero. The phrase gained some traction on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic, when it was often used in praise of the marvelous healthcare and frontline workers who served our communities.

25 Olympic sprinter Thompson-Herah : ELAINE

Elaine Thompson-Herah is an Olympic champion sprinter from Jamaica. In a 100m race in 2021, she became the first woman to break the 40 km/h barrier.

26 Waterproof covers : TARPS

Originally, tarpaulins were made from canvas covered in tar that rendered the material waterproof. The word “tarpaulin” comes from “tar” and “palling”, with “pall” meaning “heavy cloth covering”.

27 Oscar winner Tatum : O’NEAL

Tatum O’Neal is the youngest actress to win a competitive Oscar. She won the Best Supporting Actress Award in 1974 when she was just 10 years old, for her role as Addie in “Paper Moon”. The youngest person to win an honorary Academy Award was Shirley Temple, who was only 5 years old when she was presented with an Oscar in 1934.

28 Eel-and-rice dish : UNADON

“Unadon” is the Japanese word for “eel bowl”. “Unadon” is actually a contraction of “unagi no kabayaki” (grilled eel) and “donburi” (rice bowl dish).

29 College sports channel : ESPNU

ESPNU (short for “ESPN Universities”) is a sports channel focused on college athletics.

30 Org. with the Blues and the Blue Jackets : NHL

The St. Louis Blues NHL hockey team takes its name from the song “St. Louis Blues”, a jazz and popular music classic.

The Blue Jackets are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. The name “Blue Jacket” is a reference to the uniforms worn by Ohio and Columbus soldiers during the Civil War.

31 Dead heat : TIE

A race ending in a dead heat ends in a tie. A heat is one of a series of races, and it might be described as “dead” if there is no decisive outcome, if there is a tie.

33 Run-down : SEEDY

We use the word “seedy” to mean “shabby”. The usage probably arose from the appearance of a flowering plant that has gone to seed.

42 Grocery chain based in Germany : ALDI

Aldi is an extremely large discount supermarket chain based in Germany with outlets in many countries, including the main European nations and Australia. Here in the US, Aldi owns the Trader Joe’s chain of stores. The chain was founded in 1946 by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht. The name “Aldi” is an abbreviation of “Albrecht Diskont”, “Albrecht Discount” in English.

43 Antacid brand : TUMS

The main ingredient in Tums antacid, made by GlaxoSmithKline, is calcium carbonate. Tums have been on the market since 1930. If you want to save a few pennies, Target brand antacid is identical to Tums, or so I hear …

45 Tasmanian marsupial : WOMBAT

Wombats are marsupials that are native to Australia. Apparently, wombats are often mocked in their native land, as they are viewed as fat, slow, lazy animals. The “unofficial” mascot of the 2000 Sydney Olympics was “Fatso the Fat-A***ed Wombat”.

Tasmania is a large island lying off the southeast coast of Australia. In 1642, the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sail past the island. Tasman named his discovery Van Diemen’s Land after the Governor of the Dutch East Indies, Anthony van Diemen. The name was officially changed to Tasmania, after the discoverer himself, in 1856. In Australia, a more familiar name used is “Tassie”.

46 Rich cakes : TORTES

A torte is a type of cake made primarily with eggs, sugar and ground nuts (but no flour).

51 Abbr. seen under a deer silhouette : XING

A silhouette is an outline, usually of a person’s profile, which has been filled in with a solid color. One theory is that the term comes from the name of the French Minister of Finance in 1759, Étienne de Silhouette. Said minister made major cutbacks in spending to finance the Seven Years War, cutbacks that were not popular with the citizenry. His name came to be used for a cheap way of making someone’s likeness, a “silhouette”.

52 “__ Brockovich” : ERIN

Erin Brockovich is an environmental activist who is famous for the role she played in building a case against Pacific Gas & Electric for contaminating drinking water. Her story was told in a 2000 film titled “Erin Brockovich” starring Julia Roberts in the title role. Brockovich herself actually appeared in the film, as she was given a cameo as a waitress in a restaurant scene.

53 “The X-Files” agent Scully : DANA

“The X-Files” is a very successful science fiction show that originally aired on the Fox network from 1993 to 2002. The stars of the show are David Duchovny (playing Fox Mulder) and the very talented Gillian Anderson (playing Dana Scully). By the time the series ended, “The X-Files” was the longest running sci-fi show in US broadcast history. An “X-Files” reboot started airing in 2016 with Duchovny and Anderson reprising their starring roles.

55 Item needed to play Poohsticks : TWIG

Poohsticks is a game first mentioned in “The House at Pooh Corner”, that I’ve bet we’ve all played at some time or other. The game is played on a bridge over running water. Each player drops a stick in the water on the upstream side of the bridge, and then runs to the other side of the bridge to see whose stick is first to emerge. There is a World Poohsticks Championships held on the River Thames in England every year.

57 Playlist overseers, for short : DJS

The world’s first radio disc jockey (DJ) was one Ray Newby of Stockton, California who made his debut broadcast in 1909, would you believe? When he was 16 years old and a student, Newby started to play his records on a primitive radio located in the Herrold College of Engineering and Wireless in San Jose. The records played back then were mostly recordings of Enrico Caruso.

59 Director DuVernay : AVA

Ava DuVernay is a filmmaker who became the first African-American woman to win the Best Director Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, a feat she achieved in 2012 for her feature film “Middle of Nowhere”. “Middle of Nowhere” tells the story of a woman who drops out of medical school to focus on her husband when he is sentenced to 8 years in prison. DuVernay also directed the 2014 film “Selma” about the 1965 voting rights marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Enthusiast : BUFF
5 Embarrass : ABASH
10 Member of an ancient religion that values nonviolence : JAIN
14 Like some exams : ORAL
15 “__ Man”: Village People hit : MACHO
16 High ponytail, e.g. : UPDO
17 WNBA alum Barnes who coaches the Arizona Wildcats : ADIA
18 Skateboard stunt : OLLIE
19 Baby bird’s home : NEST
20 Fudge-and-caramel ice cream dish : TURTLE SUNDAE
23 Bubble tea pearls : BOBA
24 Abu Dhabi’s country: Abbr. : UAE
26 Regulations for a big contest : TOURNAMENT RULES
34 “Tomorrow” musical : ANNIE
35 Branch of Islam : SHIA
36 Body spray brand : AXE
37 500 sheets of paper : REAM
38 Plenty of : AMPLE
40 Organ component : PIPE
41 Note-taking aid : PAD
42 Auth. unknown : ANON
43 Ready to play, in a way : TUNED
44 Gradually and reliably : SLOWLY BUT SURELY
48 Agree silently : NOD
49 Units of resistance : OHMS
50 Ambiguous outcome, and what the circled letters literally contain : MIXED RESULTS
57 Dreary and dull : DRAB
60 Beyond mad : IRATE
61 Ames’s state : IOWA
62 Coffee, in slang : JAVA
63 Golf course halves : NINES
64 Pre-calc math course : TRIG
65 Petty quarrel : SPAT
66 Grind, as molars : GNASH
67 Creator of a Sonic boom? : SEGA

Down

1 V-shaped sitting pose in yoga : BOAT
2 Language spoken by Kamala Khan’s family on “Ms. Marvel” : URDU
3 Carnival : FAIR
4 Feature of some ball caps : FLAT BRIM
5 Slide show? : AMOEBA
6 Fragrant sap : BALSAM
7 Org. with a Reproductive Freedom Project : ACLU
8 Knee-to-ankle area : SHIN
9 Cleared weeds, say : HOED
10 Capital of Alaska : JUNEAU
11 Gorilla, e.g. : APE
12 Cards with pics : IDS
13 “__ all heroes wear capes” : NOT
21 Sole : LONE
22 General vibe : AURA
25 Olympic sprinter Thompson-Herah : ELAINE
26 Waterproof covers : TARPS
27 Oscar winner Tatum : O’NEAL
28 Eel-and-rice dish : UNADON
29 College sports channel : ESPNU
30 Org. with the Blues and the Blue Jackets : NHL
31 Dead heat : TIE
32 Toss out : EXPEL
33 Run-down : SEEDY
38 “Press __ key to continue” : ANY
39 Crowd around : MOB
40 Occupations : PURSUITS
42 Grocery chain based in Germany : ALDI
43 Antacid brand : TUMS
45 Tasmanian marsupial : WOMBAT
46 Rich cakes : TORTES
47 “Yikes!” : SHEESH!
51 Abbr. seen under a deer silhouette : XING
52 “__ Brockovich” : ERIN
53 “The X-Files” agent Scully : DANA
54 Shared stories : LORE
55 Item needed to play Poohsticks : TWIG
56 Story that might take hours to tell : SAGA
57 Playlist overseers, for short : DJS
58 Knock sharply : RAP
59 Director DuVernay : AVA

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