LA Times Crossword 29 Oct 22, Saturday

Constructed by: Emet Ozar & Matthew Stock
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: None

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Bill’s time: 10m 23s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

6 Comedian Samantha : BEE

Samantha Bee is a comedian from Toronto who found fame as a correspondent on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” starting way back in 2003. Bee left “The Daily Show” in 2015 to host her own late-night talk show “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” on TBS.

9 Targets of some reconstructive surgery, initially : ACLS

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of four major ligaments that support the knee.

13 Annual telethon held by Comic Relief : RED NOSE DAY

Comic Relief is a British charity launched in 1985 by comedian Lenny Henry and comedy screenwriter Richard Curtis. Central to the organization’s annual program is a telethon known as Red Nose Day. The live event is hosted by celebrity comedians and pop stars and features A-listers making fools of themselves to raise money.

19 Strike zone? : LANE

In ten-pin bowling, a perfect game is a score of 300, which means that 12 strikes are bowled in a row.

22 Like many beep baseball players : BLIND

Beep baseball is so called because the ball used beeps, allowing visually impaired people participate in the sport. All players wear a blindfold so that everyone plays with the same level of impairment. In addition to the ball beeping, the bases give off a buzzing sound. Understandably, spectators must remain quiet during each play on the field.

24 Alphabetical order? : BLT

The BLT (bacon, lettuce and tomato) is the second-most popular sandwich in the US, after the plain old ham sandwich.

27 Compass dirección : OESTE

“Oeste” (west) is a “dirección” (direction), in Spanish.

33 Woman who co-founded the Industrial Workers of the World, familiarly : MOTHER JONES

Mary Harris Jones was a labor and community organizer who was so successful at orchestrating strikes of mine workers in the early 1900s that she became known in some circles as “the most dangerous woman in America”. Jones spent her formative years in her native Ireland before emigrating to the US via Canada. She settled in Memphis, Tennessee where her life was struck with tragedy. She lost her husband and all four of their children in an outbreak of yellow fever. Much later in her life she was given the moniker “Mother Jones”.

35 Dojo curriculum : MARTIAL ARTS

Martial arts are various fighting traditions and systems used in combat or simply to promote physical well-being. The term “martial” ultimately derives from Latin and means “Arts of Mars”, a reference to Mars, the Roman god of war.

The Japanese word “dojo” translates literally as “place of the way”. Originally the term applied to training halls that were found in or beside temples. The teaching in a dojo was not limited to the martial arts, but in the Western world we use the dojo as the name for a training facility for judo, karate and the like.

36 Symbols in some price guides : DOLLAR SIGNS

The dollar sign ($) was first used for the Spanish-American peso, in the late 18th century. The peso was also called the “Spanish dollar” (and “piece of eight”). The Spanish dollar was to become a model for the US dollar that was adopted in 1785, along with the dollar sign.

37 __ box : BENTO

A bento is a single-person meal that is eaten quite commonly in Japan. A bento can be purchased as a take-out meal, or it may be packed at home. A bento is usually sold as a “bento box”.

38 Imperfect, e.g. : TENSE

In English, an imperfect tense is one describing an unfinished or continually repeated action. All continuous tenses are classified as imperfect. Some examples are:

I was solving the crossword while enjoying a pint of Guinness (past continuous)
Which crossword are you solving? (present continuous)
I will be solving the crossword tomorrow evening (future continuous)

39 Org. whose agenda is up in the air? : FAA

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was set up in 1958 (as the Federal Aviation Agency). The agency was established at that particular time largely in response to an increasing number of midair collisions. The worst of these disasters had taken place two years earlier over the Grand Canyon, a crash between two commercial passenger airplanes that resulted in 128 fatalities.

45 Stories : YARNS

The phrase “to spin a yarn”, meaning “to tell a tall tale”, originated in the early 1800s with seamen. The idea was that sailors would tell stories to each other while engaged in mindless work such as twisting yarn.

47 Dish also called horiatiki : GREEK SALAD

What we know as a Greek salad here in North America evolved from the horiatiki salad from Greek cuisine. The name “horiatiki” translates as “peasant, village salad”. A typical horiatiki salad consists of tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, olives with a slice of feta cheese on top. It also includes a dressing made from Greek oregano and salt in olive oil. Notably, the original dish does not include lettuce.

52 Model Hadid with a Maybelline collection : GIGI

Gigi Hadid is a model from Los Angeles who started her career as a child model for the brand Baby Guess. Hadid has had an on-again, off-again relationship with British singer Zayn Malik since 2015, and they had a child together in 2020.

Maybelline was founded in 1925 in New York by a chemist who was inspired to produce a line of mascara when he noticed his sister applying some makeup. The young lady was using a mixture of Vaseline and coal dust on her eyelashes to make them appear darker and fuller. He produced a product in the laboratory that had a similar effect and started to sell it. The sister’s name was Maybel, and Maybelline became the new company name.

54 Some long-distance connections : SKYPE DATES

The main feature of the Skype application, when introduced, was that it allows voice communication to take place over the Internet (aka VoIP). Skype has other features such as video conferencing and instant messaging, but the application made its name from voice communication. Skype was founded by two Scandinavian entrepreneurs and the software necessary was developed by a team of engineers in Estonia. The development project was originally called “Sky peer-to-peer” so the first commercial name for the application was “Skyper”. This had to be shortened to “Skype” because the skyper.com domain name was already in use.

56 Coward with a knighthood : NOEL

Noël Coward was the most flamboyant of personalities. A playwright, composer and actor, Coward worked in a remarkable range of genres. He wrote the wonderfully airy play “Blithe Spirit”, as well as the Oscar-winning WWII naval drama “In Which We Serve”. A couple of his more famous songs, many of which he performed himself in cabaret, are “Mad Dogs and Englishmen” and “London Pride”.

57 Spanish soap : TELENOVELA

A telenovela is a “television novel”, a form of programming that is very popular in Latin America. A telenovela is somewhat like a soap opera that has an end in sight, and that runs for less than a year. I like this quote from an executive at Telemundo:

A telenovela is all about a couple who wants to kiss and a scriptwriter who stands in their way for 150 episodes.

58 “Scooping since 1928” brand : EDY’S

Dreyer’s ice cream sells its products under the name Dreyer’s in the Western United States, and Edy’s in the Eastern states. The company’s founders were William Dreyer and Joseph Edy.

Down

1 Hat with a teardrop-shaped crown : TRILBY

A trilby is a soft felt hat with a narrow brim and an indented crown. This style of hat was worn in a London production of a stage adaptation of George du Maurier’s 1894 novel “Trilby”. Soon after, the style became known as “a Trilby hat”, and the name has stuck.

4 Medtronic injection device for diabetics : INPEN

Medtronic is a medical device manufacturer that was founded in Minneapolis in 1949 as a repair shop for medical equipment.

Diabetes is a group of disorders characterized by high blood sugar levels (hyperglycemia). Type 1 diabetes is caused by the body’s failure to make enough insulin, a hormone that promotes the absorption of glucose from the blood. Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body’s cells fail to respond properly to insulin.

5 Dreidel, e.g. : TOP

A dreidel is a spinning top with four sides that is often associated with the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. Each of the four sides on a dreidel bears a letter from the Hebrew alphabet (nun, gimel, hei and shin). The four letters are the initials of the Hebrew phrase “Nes Gadol Hayah Sham” meaning “a great miracle happened there”. According to tradition, children would be taught Torah while hiding in caves away from the Greeks. When Greek soldiers approached, the children would hide their torah scrolls and play with their dreidels instead.

6 Indicación de afecto : BESO

In Spanish, a “beso” (kiss) is an “indicación de afecto” (display of affection).

7 Place with a snake in the grass : EDEN

In the Christian tradition, the “fall of man” took place in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve succumbed to the temptation of eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This went against the bidding of God, and was at the urging of the serpent. As a result, Adam and Eve were banished from Eden to prevent them from becoming immortal by eating from the tree of life. The first humans had transitioned from a state of innocent obedience to a state of guilty disobedience.

8 Cold War capital : EAST BERLIN

After World War II, the allies agreed to divide the city of Berlin into four sectors. The sector administered by the Soviets became known as “East Berlin”, and the sectors administered by the Americans, French and British became known as “West Berlin”. The German Democratic Republic (GDR) was established in 1949, and declared its capital as East Berlin. Starting in 1961, the GDR built a wall (the Berlin Wall) around West Berlin, separating that portion of the city from East German territory.

9 Flavonoids-rich berry : ACAI

Flavonoids are pigments widely distributed in the plant kingdom. They are the most common chemical that produces yellow and red/blue colors in flowers.

11 Symbolic flowers in Buddhism : LOTUSES

The roots of the lotus plant penetrate into the bed of a lake or river, while the leaves float on the water’s surface. This behavior led to the use of the lotus as a symbol in the Buddhist tradition, as a symbol of purity of the body, speech and mind. The idea is that the lotus flower represents the pure body, speech and mind floating above the muddy waters of attachment and desire.

28 “__ Is Betta Than Evvah!”: 1976 album : ETTA

“Etta Is Betta Than Evvah!” is a 1976 studio album released by American singer Etta James.

32 Army __ : ANTS

Army ants are a collection of over two hundred different species of ants. Each species is known for aggressively raiding a certain area en masse, foraging for food. Army ants also stay on the move, never building permanent nests.

33 Stout grain : MALT

The term “stout” was first used for a type of beer in the 1600s when it was used to describe a “strong, stout” brew, and not necessarily a dark beer as it is today.

Malt is germinated cereal grains that have been dried. The cereal is germinated by soaking it in water, and then germination is halted by drying the grains with hot air.

34 Florida NFLers : JAGS

The Jacksonville Jaguars have been in the NFL since 1995, and play in the American Football Conference (AFC).

35 California home of an annual jazz festival : MONTEREY

The Monterey Jazz Festival takes place annually in Monterey, California. The first festival took place in 1958, with the city giving approval largely due to lobbying by jazz pianist and composer Dave Brubeck.

36 XTC song with the lyrics “Hope you get the letter and / I pray you can make it better down here” : DEAR GOD

XTC were a band from Swindon in the UK whose most famous hits were “Making Plans for Nigel” from 1979, and “Senses Working Overtime” from 1982.

39 Bistro side : FRITES

French fries are called “chips” back in Ireland where I grew up. And what we call “chips” in the US are known as “crisps” in Britain and Ireland. In France, French fries are known as “pommes frites” (fried potatoes).

“Bistro” was originally a Parisian slang term describing a little wine shop or restaurant.

40 The Big A team : ANGELS

Angel Stadium of Anaheim is sometimes called the Big A. The Big A opened for business in 1966, making it the fourth oldest stadium in the major leagues, after Fenway Park, Wrigley Field and Dodger Stadium.

46 Source of the Mexican drink pulque : AGAVE

Pulque (also “octli”) is an alcoholic drink made by fermenting the sap of the maguey (Agave americana).

49 Singer Lovett : LYLE

As well as being famous in his own right, country singer Lyle Lovett is known for his 1993 marriage to actress Julia Roberts. The pair had a whirlwind romance lasting just three weeks before they eloped and were wed. The marriage itself was also relatively whirlwind, lasting less than two years.

55 __ Pérignon : DOM

Dom Pérignon is a prestige label of champagne from Moët et Chandon, the French winery. The label’s name honors the Benedictine monk, Dom Pérignon, who helped to improve the quality and production of champagne in the early 18th century. Although Dom Pérignon made major contributions to champagne production, many of the stories in which he figures are just myths. He did not “invent” champagne, nor sparkling wine in general. Nor did he say the famous words, “Come quickly, I am drinking the stars!”. That lovely line first appeared in a print advertisement in the late 1800s!

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Part of one’s inheritance : TRAIT
6 Comedian Samantha : BEE
9 Targets of some reconstructive surgery, initially : ACLS
13 Annual telethon held by Comic Relief : RED NOSE DAY
16 “Works for me” : COOL
17 “Hm, maybe” : I SUPPOSE SO
18 Concerning : AS TO
19 Strike zone? : LANE
20 Call from a night owl to an early bird : DON’T WAIT UP!
22 Like many beep baseball players : BLIND
24 Alphabetical order? : BLT
25 Mileage, so to speak : USE
26 So far : YET
27 Compass dirección : OESTE
31 Broke : TAMED
33 Woman who co-founded the Industrial Workers of the World, familiarly : MOTHER JONES
35 Dojo curriculum : MARTIAL ARTS
36 Symbols in some price guides : DOLLAR SIGNS
37 __ box : BENTO
38 Imperfect, e.g. : TENSE
39 Org. whose agenda is up in the air? : FAA
42 Not fast : EAT
43 Short filmmaker? : CAM
45 Stories : YARNS
47 Dish also called horiatiki : GREEK SALAD
52 Model Hadid with a Maybelline collection : GIGI
53 Brute : OGRE
54 Some long-distance connections : SKYPE DATES
56 Coward with a knighthood : NOEL
57 Spanish soap : TELENOVELA
58 “Scooping since 1928” brand : EDY’S
59 Hi-__ : RES
60 All over the place : MESSY

Down

1 Hat with a teardrop-shaped crown : TRILBY
2 Consignment shop deal : RESALE
3 Marketing space on a website, e.g. : AD UNIT
4 Medtronic injection device for diabetics : INPEN
5 Dreidel, e.g. : TOP
6 Indicación de afecto : BESO
7 Place with a snake in the grass : EDEN
8 Cold War capital : EAST BERLIN
9 Flavonoids-rich berry : ACAI
10 Play clothes : COSTUMES
11 Symbolic flowers in Buddhism : LOTUSES
12 At an angle : SLOPED
14 Turf : SOD
15 Make one’s voice heard, in a way : YOWL
21 Professional who goes through the motions? : ATTORNEY
23 Basic security feature : DOOR LOCK
28 “__ Is Betta Than Evvah!”: 1976 album : ETTA
29 Custom Ink or RushOrderTees : SHIRT MAKER
30 Kid : TEASE
32 Army __ : ANTS
33 Stout grain : MALT
34 Florida NFLers : JAGS
35 California home of an annual jazz festival : MONTEREY
36 XTC song with the lyrics “Hope you get the letter and / I pray you can make it better down here” : DEAR GOD
37 “Away with thee!” : BEGONE!
39 Bistro side : FRITES
40 The Big A team : ANGELS
41 “To repeat … ” : AS I SAY …
44 Little help? : ASST
46 Source of the Mexican drink pulque : AGAVE
48 Long fish : EELS
49 Singer Lovett : LYLE
50 Copies : APES
51 Hideaway : DEN
55 __ Pérignon : DOM

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