LA Times Crossword 20 Jul 23, Thursday

Constructed by: Matthew Stock
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: What Is Love

Themed answers each start with a word following “LOVE IS A/AN …” in the title of a song:

64A 1993 dance hit, and a musical question answered by the starts of 18-, 29-, and 48-Across? : WHAT IS LOVE and WHAT IS LOVE?

18A Specialty concerned with player experience : GAME DESIGN (giving “Love Is a Game”)
29A Leadership styles that encourage transparency : OPEN-DOOR POLICIES (giving “Love Is an Open Door”)
48A John Travolta film that won nine Razzies, including Worst Picture of the Decade : BATTLEFIELD EARTH (giving “Love Is a Battlefield”)

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Bill’s time: 6m 45s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Tie with a cord : BOLO

I’ve never worn a bolo tie, and was surprised to discover that it is a relatively recent invention. The first bolo tie was apparently produced in Wickenburg, Arizona in the late 1940s by a silversmith. The bolo takes its name from the boleadora, an Argentine lariat.

5 Unctuous flattery : SMARM

The word “smarm” describes insincere flattery. The term comes from a colloquial word “smalm” that was used in the mid-19th century to mean “smear the hair with some sort of styling product”.

A person described as “unctuous” is oily and insincere. “Unctum” is the Latin for “ointment”.

16 Animated garden snail who dreams of racing in the Indy 500 : TURBO

“Turbo” is a 2013 computer-animated sports comedy film about a garden snail (voiced by Ryan Reynolds) who dreams of becoming the greatest racer in the world. The snail is named Theo, although he prefers “Turbo”, a nickname he gave himself. Spoiler alert: Theo attains his dream by winning the Indy 500.

17 The MLB’s Angels, to fans : HALOS

The Anaheim Angels baseball team is today more correctly called the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (LAA). The “Angels” name dates back to 1961 when the team was founded in the “City of Angels”, Los Angeles. When the franchise moved to Anaheim in 1965 they were known as the California Angels, then the Anaheim Angels, and most recently the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The Angels are also known as “the Halos”.

18 Specialty concerned with player experience : GAME DESIGN (giving “Love Is a Game”)

“Love Is a Game” is a song from Adele’s 2021 studio album “30”. It is in fact the album’s closing track.

20 Greek yogurt brand : OIKOS

Oikos is a brand of Greek yogurt made by Danone.

21 Henna, for one : DYE

Henna has been used for centuries as a dye, for leather and wool as well as hair and skin. In modern days, henna is often used for temporary tattoos.

25 DIY publication : ZINE

A zine is a magazine. The term “zine” is often reserved for noncommercial publications, including those issued online.

27 MRI output : SCAN

MRI scans can be daunting for many people as they usually involve the patient lying inside a tube with the imaging magnet surrounding the body. Additionally, the scan can take up to 40 minutes in some cases. There are some open MRI scanners available that help prevent a feeling of claustrophobia. However, the images produced by open scanners are of lower quality as they operate at lower magnetic fields.

29 Leadership styles that encourage transparency : OPEN-DOOR POLICIES (giving “Love Is an Open Door”)

“Love Is an Open Door” is a romantic duet from the 2013 animated feature film “Frozen”. It is performed by Kristen Bell as Anna, and by Santino Fontanan as Prince Hans.

36 PC file suffix : EXE

In the Windows operating system, a file with the extension “.exe” is an “executable” file.

37 Slalom marker : GATE

“Slalom” is an anglicized version of the Norwegian word “slalam” that translates as “skiing race”. There is a longer version of the traditional slalom that is called giant slalom

40 Egg-shaped tomato : ROMA

The Roma tomato isn’t considered an heirloom variety but it is very popular with home gardeners, especially those gardeners that don’t have a lot of space. It is a bush type (as opposed to vine type) and needs very little room to provide a lot of tomatoes.

46 “Dude … ” : BRO …

Our term “dude” arose as slang in New York City in the 1880s, when it was used to describe a fastidious man. In the early 1900s, the term was extended to mean “city slickers”, easterners who vacationed in the West. The first use of the term “dude ranch” was recorded in 1921.

48 John Travolta film that won nine Razzies, including Worst Picture of the Decade : BATTLEFIELD EARTH (giving “Love Is a Battlefield”)

“Battlefield Earth” is a 2000 sci-fi film based on a 1982 novel of the same name by L. Ron Hubbard. A lot of controversy accompanied the release of the film. It stars John Travolta, who had been trying to get the film made since the mid-1990s. Travolta is a noted Scientologist, and the book’s author L. Ron Hubbard was the founder of Scientology. Critics of Scientology labeled the movie as a recruitment tool for the church.

“Razzie” is the familiar name for the Golden Raspberry Award, an award presented annually for the worst in the world of film. The Razzies have been presented on the day before the Oscars since 1981.

“Love Is a Battlefield” is a 1983 song released by Pat Benatar. The song’s music video was also a hit. It features Benetar as a rebellious teenager, and was one of the first music videos to include dialogue. As the video opens, Banatar’s “father” shouts out, “If you leave this house now, you can just forget about coming back!”

54 Single __ whisky : MALT

Single malt whisky is made from malted barley and distilled at a single distillery. It is typically aged for at least three years in oak casks. Single malts are typically more expensive than blended whiskies, as they are made from a single type of barley and are aged for a longer period of time.

56 Free, as legal work : PRO BONO

The Latin term “pro bono publico” means “for the public good”, and is usually shortened to “pro bono”. The term applies to professional work that is done for free or at a reduced fee as a service to the public.

60 Rideshare alternative : CAB

A hansom cab is a very specific design of horse and buggy that was patented by Joseph Hansom in 1834 in England. The “cab” in the name is short for “cabriolet”, an earlier design of carriage on which the hansom was based. It’s from “hansom cab” that we get our modern term “cab”.

63 Ames resident : IOWAN

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.

64 1993 dance hit, and a musical question answered by the starts of 18-, 29-, and 48-Across? : WHAT IS LOVE and WHAT IS LOVE?

“What Is Love” was a big hit around the world in 1993 for Trinidadian-German singer Haddaway. It is described as a Eurodance number, but I don’t know what that means. Regardless, I quite like “What Is Love” …

69 Niagara River source : ERIE

The mighty Niagara River flows from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, and forms part of the border between the US and Canada. The river is only about 35 miles long, so some describe it as a “strait”. It has a drop in elevation of 325 feet along its length, with 165 feet of that drop taking place at Niagara Falls.

Down

1 Mavs’ city : BIG D

The Mavericks (also “Mavs”) are an NBA franchise in Dallas, Texas. The team was founded in 1980, and the Mavericks name was chosen by fan votes. The choice of “Mavericks” was prompted by the fact that the actor James Garner was a part-owner of the team, and Garner of course played the title role in the “Maverick” television series.

4 Lorca work : ODE

García Lorca was a Spanish poet and dramatist. He is as famous for his poems and his plays as he is for the circumstances of his death. Although it has never been irrefutably proven, many believe that Lorca was shot and killed while in the custody of Nationalist militia, one month after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War.

5 Vinyl lover’s setup : STEREO

Monophonic sound (“mono”) is sound reproduced using just one audio channel, which is usually played out of just one speaker. Stereophonic sound is reproduced using two audio channels, with the sound from each channel played out of two different speakers. The pair of stereo speakers are usually positioned apart from each other so that sound appears to come from between the two. Quadraphonic sound (4.0 surround sound) uses four audio channels with the sound played back through four speakers that are often positioned at the corners of the room in which one is listening.

6 Euterpe, to musicians : MUSE

Euterpe was the Muse presiding over music in Greek mythology. In later times, she was honored as the Muse of lyric poetry.

7 “Casta diva,” e.g. : ARIA

“Norma” is an opera written by Vincenzo Bellini that was first performed in 1831. One aria from the work is “Casta diva”, which is one of the most popular arias of the 1800s.

8 Justice impersonated by Kate McKinnon on “SNL” : RBG

Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (RBG) served on the US Supreme Court. Justice Ginsburg was the second woman to join the Court, and was nominated by President Bill Clinton. She was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1999 and underwent surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. During that time she did not miss one day on the bench. In 2009 Justice Ginsburg had surgery for pancreatic cancer, and was back to work 12 days later. She had left-lung lobectomy to remove cancerous nodules in 2018, which forced Justice Ginsburg to miss oral argument in January 2019, for the first time since joining the court 25 years earlier. She finally succumbed to pancreatic cancer in 2020. Much of Ginsburg’s life is recounted in the excellent 2018 movie “On the Basis of Sex”.

Comedian and impressionist Kate McKinnon’s career took off when she became a cast member of “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) in 2013. Famously, McKinnon portrayed Hillary Clinton in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election. She also co-starred in the 2016 reboot of the movie “Ghostbusters”, playing Dr. Jillian Holtzmann.

9 Grand Prix locale : MONACO

The Principality of Monaco is on the Mediterranean coast, and is otherwise surrounded by France, even though it is just under 10 miles from the Italian border. Monaco is the world’s most densely populated country, and the world’s second smallest country (the smallest being Vatican City). The principality has been very prosperous since the late 1800s, with the economy given a tremendous boost with the opening of several gambling casinos.

Even though the term is used in many competitions, I think that we most associate “Grand Prix” with the series of Formula One motor races. These Formula One Grand Prix races trace their roots back to organized automobile road races from one French town to the next that date back to 1894. “Grand Prix” translates from French as “grand, big prize.”

10 Most populous U.S. state capital : PHOENIX

Phoenix is the capital of the state of Arizona. The city started out as a farming community founded by a Civil War veteran. Key to the success of the community was the construction of canals that were really contemporary improvements to canals that had previously been built by the local Hohokam people.

12 Basic substance : ALKALI

The “opposite” of an acid is a base. Acids turn litmus paper red, and bases turn it blue. Acids and bases react with each other to form salts. An important subset of the chemicals called bases are alkalis, hydroxides of the alkali metals and of ammonium. The term “alkali” is sometimes used interchangeably with “base”, especially if that base is readily soluble in water.

13 Knuckle-headed antic? : NOOGIE

A noogie is a childish move in which someone rubs his (and it’s always a guy!) knuckles into a person’s head to create a little soreness.

24 Driving force in fine dining? : VALET

A varlet was an attendant or servant, and perhaps a knight’s page. The term “varlet” comes from the Old French “vaslet” meaning “squire, young man”. “Vaslet” also gave us our contemporary word “valet”. The term “varlet” came to be pejorative, describing an unprincipled person.

29 Texter’s “Crikey!” : OMG!

“Crikey!” is an exclamation, and is probably a euphemism for “Christ”.

30 Samosa vegetable : PEA

A samosa is quite the tasty appetizer. It is usually a triangular-shaped savory that often has a vegetarian filling. The word “samosa” is primarily used on Indian menus, and the name comes from “sanbosag”, the name for the dish in Persia.

31 Unit of resistance : OHM

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.

32 Trix mascot : RABBIT
33 Trix, e.g. : CEREAL

Trix is a corn-based breakfast cereal that has been around since 1954, produced by General Mills. Ads for the cereal featured Trix Rabbit, who would try hard to get hold of bowls of the cereal. He would always get caught though, and be admonished with, “Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids!” With 46% sugar content, the rabbit probably wouldn’t have liked it anyway …

39 Early ISP : AOL

AOL was a leading Internet Service Provider (ISP) in the 1980s and 1990s. The company does still provide dial-up access to the Internet for some subscribers, but most users now access AOL using faster, non-AOL ISPs.

42 Summer hrs. in the Navajo Nation : MDT

The Navajo Nation of the Southwestern US is the largest Native-American tribe in the country. The Navajo reservation is located in the Four Corners region and is the largest reservation in the US, covering over 27,000 square miles.

45 Polvorones nuts : ALMONDS

Polvoróns are shortbreads that are popular in Spain and Spanish-influenced countries. Key ingredients are flour, sugar, milk and almonds (although other nuts can also be used). They are very crumbly, and the name “polvorón” comes from the Spanish “polvo” meaning “powder, dust”.

47 Dr. for kids? : SEUSS

“Dr. Seuss” was the pen name of Theodor Seuss Geisel. Geisel first used the pen name while studying at Dartmouth College and at the University of Oxford. Back then, he pronounced “Seuss” as it would be in German, i.e. rhyming with “voice”. After his books found success in the US, he went with the pronunciation being used widely by the public, quite happy to have a name that rhymes with “Mother Goose”.

48 Hasbro toys that issue commands : BOP ITS

Bop It is a line of toys with a speaker that issues commands to activate input devices on the toy, devices such as handles, cranks, wheels and switches. The commands come in a series of increasing length, and at increasing speed. So, I guess Bop It is a test of memory and dexterity.

49 High lights? : AURORA

The spectacular aurora phenomenon is seen lighting up the night sky at both poles of the earth (the Aurora Borealis in the north, and the Aurora Australis in the south). The eerie effect is caused by charged particles colliding with atoms at high latitudes.

52 Extras in “Star Wars” films : DROIDS

“Droid” is short for “android” and is used to describe a robot that resembles a human. The Latin word “androides” was used in English in the 18th century to mean “like a man”. Science fiction writers introduced us to “android” in the early 1950s.

57 Curse : BANE

Today, we tend to use the word “bane” to mean “anathema, a source of persistent annoyance”. A few centuries ago, a bane was a cause of harm or death, perhaps a deadly poison.

62 Nectar collectors : BEES

The sugary liquid known as nectar is produced by plants to attract animals needed for the plant’s survival. The classic example is the nectar produced in flowers that attracts insects needed to facilitate pollination. Some plants produce nectar in leaves that attracts favorable insects that in turn prey on insects that can harm the plants.

65 Med. network : HMO

Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)

66 Hall of Fame MLB manager Durocher : LEO

Baseball player and manager Leo Durocher was noted for being outspoken, and was given the nickname “Leo the Lip”. In 1946, while he was manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Durocher expressed the opinion that teams like his successful Dodgers would always do better than teams replete with personable individuals (naming Mel Ott in particular). He used his most memorable phrase to encapsulate the sentiment … “nice guys finish last”.

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Tie with a cord : BOLO
5 Unctuous flattery : SMARM
10 Primary course of action : PLAN A
15 “Only joking” : I KID
16 Animated garden snail who dreams of racing in the Indy 500 : TURBO
17 The MLB’s Angels, to fans : HALOS
18 Specialty concerned with player experience : GAME DESIGN (giving “Love Is a Game”)
20 Greek yogurt brand : OIKOS
21 Henna, for one : DYE
22 __ rug : AREA
23 Par for the course : AVERAGE
25 DIY publication : ZINE
27 MRI output : SCAN
28 Ignited : LIT
29 Leadership styles that encourage transparency : OPEN-DOOR POLICIES (giving “Love Is an Open Door”)
34 Like slime-making kits : MESSY
35 Derisive laugh : HAH!
36 PC file suffix : EXE
37 Slalom marker : GATE
38 “Color me exhausted” : I’M BEAT
40 Egg-shaped tomato : ROMA
44 Smash (into) : RAM
46 “Dude … ” : BRO …
47 Dispatches : SENDS
48 John Travolta film that won nine Razzies, including Worst Picture of the Decade : BATTLEFIELD EARTH (giving “Love Is a Battlefield”)
53 “We’re on __ way” : OUR
54 Single __ whisky : MALT
55 Govern : RULE
56 Free, as legal work : PRO BONO
58 “About me” bits : BIOS
60 Rideshare alternative : CAB
63 Ames resident : IOWAN
64 1993 dance hit, and a musical question answered by the starts of 18-, 29-, and 48-Across? : WHAT IS LOVE and WHAT IS LOVE?
67 General tendency : TREND
68 Implant : EMBED
69 Niagara River source : ERIE
70 Retail statistic : SALES
71 Wanders : ROAMS
72 Chances : ODDS

Down

1 Mavs’ city : BIG D
2 So-so : OKAY
3 Citrus shavings : LIME ZEST
4 Lorca work : ODE
5 Vinyl lover’s setup : STEREO
6 Euterpe, to musicians : MUSE
7 “Casta diva,” e.g. : ARIA
8 Justice impersonated by Kate McKinnon on “SNL” : RBG
9 Grand Prix locale : MONACO
10 Most populous U.S. state capital : PHOENIX
11 Den : LAIR
12 Basic substance : ALKALI
13 Knuckle-headed antic? : NOOGIE
14 Net worth component : ASSETS
19 Fine and __ : DANDY
24 Driving force in fine dining? : VALET
26 Promo with a credit card bill, e.g. : INSERT
27 Round one? : SPHERE
29 Texter’s “Crikey!” : OMG!
30 Samosa vegetable : PEA
31 Unit of resistance : OHM
32 Trix mascot : RABBIT
33 Trix, e.g. : CEREAL
38 Clarifying words : I MEAN
39 Early ISP : AOL
41 Well-documented : ON RECORD
42 Summer hrs. in the Navajo Nation : MDT
43 Light gray shade : ASH
45 Polvorones nuts : ALMONDS
47 Dr. for kids? : SEUSS
48 Hasbro toys that issue commands : BOP ITS
49 High lights? : AURORA
50 Garden tool : TROWEL
51 Garden bloom : FLOWER
52 Extras in “Star Wars” films : DROIDS
57 Curse : BANE
58 Papa, in Chinese : BABA
59 Article : ITEM
61 Passionate : AVID
62 Nectar collectors : BEES
65 Med. network : HMO
66 Hall of Fame MLB manager Durocher : LEO

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