LA Times Crossword 31 Jul 23, Monday

Constructed by: Jolie L’Heureux & Alexander Liebeskind
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: It’s a Long Story

Themed answers each start with a synonym of “LONG STORY”:

57A “I’ll tell you the rest another time,” and what can be said about the starts of 20-, 28-, 36-, and 49-Across : IT’S A LONG STORY

20A Bank customer, e.g. : ACCOUNT HOLDER
28A Colorful and fuzzy street art : YARN BOMB
36A Innovative concept : NOVEL IDEA
49A Big-time letdown : EPIC FAIL

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Bill’s time: 5m 35s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Matriarch of the Three Bears : MAMA

The story of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” was first recorded in 1837 in England, although the narrative was around before it was actually written down. The original fairy tale was rather gruesome, but successive versions became more family-oriented. The character that eventually became Goldilocks was originally an elderly woman, and the three “nameless” bears became Papa Bear, Mama Bear and Baby Bear.

9 Private supply : CACHE

A cache is a secret supply. We imported the term “cache” into English from French-Canadian trappers in the 17th century. Back then, “cache” was slang for “hiding place for stores”, derived from the French verb “cacher” meaning “to hide”.

14 “Right away” letters : ASAP

As soon as possible (ASAP)

15 Mideast leader : EMIR

An emir is a prince or chieftain, one most notably from the Middle East in Islamic countries. In English, “emir” can also be written variously as “emeer, amir, ameer” (watch out for those spellings in crosswords!).

19 With 4-Down, small dog from Tibet : LHASA …
[4D See 19-Across : … 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.

23 24 horas : DIA

In Spanish, a “día” (day) comprises 24 “horas” (hours).

24 Disco __ of “The Simpsons” : STU

On “The Simpsons”, the character Disco Stu is voiced by Hank Azaria, although the original intent was for him to be voiced by Phil Hartman. Disco Stu is described as “a black, wrinkly John Travolta”.

25 Has lunch on a blanket, say : PICNICS

Our term “picnic” comes from the French word that now has the same meaning, namely “pique-nique”. The original “pique-nique” was a fashionable potluck affair, and not necessarily held outdoors.

28 Colorful and fuzzy street art : YARN BOMB

Yarn bombing, also known as yarnstorming and guerrilla knitting, is a type of street art that involves covering public surfaces with knitted or crocheted pieces. Exactly where yarn bombing originated is disputed, but the practice seems to have taken off in 2005 and examples are encountered all around the world.

32 Southeast Asian language : LAO

Lao, the language of Laos, does not use spaces between words (or periods!), although this is apparently changing. Spaces are used between sentences and clauses.

33 Mani-__: spa treatments : PEDIS

Manicure & pedicure (mani-pedi)

44 Raspberry shade : RED

Raspberries are perennial plants in the rose family. Raspberries and blackberries are close cousins, with the fruit looking very similar other than the color. One defining difference between the two fruits is noted when the fruit is picked. The stem (torus) of the fruit remains with the blackberry when it is picked, whereas the stem stays with the plant when the raspberry is picked, leaving the fruit “hollow”.

53 Shares a tweet on Instagram, say : REPOSTS

Instagram (often abbreviated to “Insta”, or “IG”) is a photo-sharing application, one that is extremely popular. Instagram started in San Francisco in 2010. Facebook purchased Instagram two years later, paying $1 billion. The billion-dollar Instagram company had just 13 employees at the time of the sale …

60 Vietnam’s capital : HANOI

Hanoi (“Hà Nội” in Vietnamese) was the capital of North Vietnam, and Saigon the capital of South Vietnam. After the Vietnam War, Hanoi was made capital of the reunified state. Saigon, the larger metropolis, was renamed to Ho Chi Minh City. Hanoi is located in the delta of the Red River, and is just over 50 miles from the Gulf of Tonkin in the South China Sea.

64 Houston MLB player : ASTRO

The Houston baseball team changed its name to the Astros (sometimes “’Stros”) from the Colt .45s in 1965 when they started playing in the Astrodome. The Astrodome was so called in recognition of the city’s long association with the US space program. The Astros moved from the National League to the American League starting in the 2013 season.

Down

3 Cosmetic applied with a wand : MASCARA

Variants of mascara have been around a long time, and certainly there was a similar substance in use in ancient Egypt. “Mascara” is a Spanish word meaning “stain, mask”.

7 Lightsaber wielders who are enemies of the Jedi : SITH

The Sith are characters in the “Star Wars” universe who use the “dark side” of “the Force”, and as such are the antithesis of the Jedi Knights. Members of the Sith use the title “Darth” before their name, as in Darth Vader. The last made of the six “Star Wars” movies is called “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith”.

8 Scout unit selling cookies : TROOP

Depending on which bakery makes the particular variety of Girl Scout cookies, the name can vary. For example, Little Brownie Bakers makes Samoa cookies, while ABC Bakers uses the same recipe and calls the cookies Caramel deLites. The assumption is that these cookies have the exotic name “Samoa” because they contain the tropical ingredients of coconut and cocoa. The most popular variety of Girl Scout cookies sold are Thin Mints.

10 Home of the Acropolis and the Parthenon : ATHENS

The term “acropolis” translates from Greek as “high city” or “city on the extremity”. In English we use the term “citadel” to mean the same thing. The most famous citadel bearing the name is the Acropolis of Athens. This Acropolis is a large, flat-topped rock in the city of Athens that rises almost 500 feet above sea level. The most recognizable building that stands on the Acropolis is the Parthenon, also known as the Temple of Athena.

The Parthenon is the ruined temple that sits on the Athenian Acropolis. Although the Parthenon was dedicated to the goddess Athena as a sacred building in the days of the Athenian Empire, it was actually used primarily as a treasury. In later centuries, the Parthenon was repurposed as a Christian Church dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and was also used as a mosque after Ottoman conquest.

21 PC connection port : USB

Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard dealing with how computers and electronic devices connect and communicate, and dealing with electrical power through those connections.

29 Persona __ grata : NON

A persona non grata (plural “personae non gratae”) is someone who is not welcome. The phrase is Latin for “an unacceptable person”. The opposite phrase is “persona grata”, meaning “acceptable person”.

30 Represent inaccurately : BELIE

The verbs “to confute” and “to belie” both mean “to show to be false”.

46 Elementary school shoebox project : DIORAMA

A diorama is a full-scale or small-scale replica of a scene. We mostly see full-size dioramas in museums, whereas our kids might create small-scale dioramas as homework projects. The original diorama was a picture-viewing device that was invented in 1822 by Louis Daguerre and Charles Marie Bouton. These historic dioramas were quite large, and featured scenes that appeared to change as the lighting was manipulated.

48 “My Neighbor __”: Studio Ghibli film : TOTORO

“My Neighbor Totoro” is a 1988 Japanese animated film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten. The film tells the story of two sisters, Satsuki and Mei, who move to the countryside with their father to be closer to their hospitalized mother. The sisters befriend Totoro, a large, furry creature who lives in the nearby forest.

51 Insured investments: Abbr. : CDS

A certificate of deposit (CD) is like a less-flexible and higher-paying savings account. Instead of depositing money into a savings account and earning interest periodically, one can open a CD. With a CD one deposits a minimum amount of money but must leave it there for a specified length of time. In return for committing the funds for a fixed period, one is given a higher interest rate than a savings account and can redeem that interest and the initial deposit when the term has expired. CDs are relatively low-risk investments as they are FDIC insured, just like savings accounts.

52 “Stay out of trouble” : LAY LOW

There is often confusion between the verbs “to lie” and “to lay”. The latter is a transitive verb, and so needs an object. So we can’t “lay down”, we must “lie down”. But, we can “lay out” a plan.

58 Thousand __: Ventura County city : OAKS

Thousand Oaks is a city in Greater Los Angeles. Unsurprisingly, it is named for the many oak trees in the area. In fact, it is estimated that there are 50,000 to 60,000 oak trees within the city limits. The actual choice of name was made in the 1920s by virtue of a naming contest. The young man who came up with “Thousand Oaks” was just 14 years old.

59 Sondheim’s “Sweeney __” : TODD

“Sweeney Todd” was originally a 1936 film, later a 1973 play, then a 1979 musical, and then a movie adaptation of the musical in 2007. After Sweeney Todd has killed his victims, his partner in crime Mrs. Lovett helped him dispose of the bodies by taking the flesh and baking it into meat pies that she sold in her pie shop. Ugh!

61 Egyptian snake : ASP

The venomous snake called an asp was a symbol of royalty in ancient Egypt.

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Matriarch of the Three Bears : MAMA
5 Grocery shopper’s aid : LIST
9 Private supply : CACHE
14 “Right away” letters : ASAP
15 Mideast leader : EMIR
16 Catchall option on a survey : OTHER
17 At a __ for words : LOSS
18 Regarding : AS TO
19 With 4-Down, small dog from Tibet : LHASA …
20 Bank customer, e.g. : ACCOUNT HOLDER
23 24 horas : DIA
24 Disco __ of “The Simpsons” : STU
25 Has lunch on a blanket, say : PICNICS
28 Colorful and fuzzy street art : YARN BOMB
31 More expansive : VASTER
32 Southeast Asian language : LAO
33 Mani-__: spa treatments : PEDIS
35 “For sure” : YES
36 Innovative concept : NOVEL IDEA
40 Cat coat : FUR
43 Calf-length skirts : MIDIS
44 Raspberry shade : RED
47 “The way things are … ” : AS IT IS …
49 Big-time letdown : EPIC FAIL
53 Shares a tweet on Instagram, say : REPOSTS
55 Pull the plug on : END
56 Ode title words : TO A
57 “I’ll tell you the rest another time,” and what can be said about the starts of 20-, 28-, 36-, and 49-Across : IT’S A LONG STORY
60 Vietnam’s capital : HANOI
62 Comfort : EASE
63 Shape of many a car logo : OVAL
64 Houston MLB player : ASTRO
65 Squeezes (out) : EKES
66 How-to presentation : DEMO
67 Cereal eater’s utensil : SPOON
68 Hissed “Hey!” : PSST!
69 Etch or sketch : DRAW

Down

1 Affliction : MALADY
2 Preferring to be alone : ASOCIAL
3 Cosmetic applied with a wand : MASCARA
4 See 19-Across : … APSO
5 Makeshift shelter : LEAN-TO
6 “Haven’t the foggiest” : I’M STUMPED
7 Lightsaber wielders who are enemies of the Jedi : SITH
8 Scout unit selling cookies : TROOP
9 Unsolved crime : COLD CASE
10 Home of the Acropolis and the Parthenon : ATHENS
11 Donation recipient : CHARITY
12 Father and son : HES
13 Time studied in history class : ERA
21 PC connection port : USB
22 Really steamed : LIVID
26 Average grade : CEE
27 Graduating gp. : SRS
29 Persona __ grata : NON
30 Represent inaccurately : BELIE
34 Hands out : DISPENSES
37 Something left out : OMISSION
38 Photogenic expanse : VISTA
39 “Woof!” : ARF!
40 Few and __ between : FAR
41 Function : USE
42 Verbally attack : RIP INTO
45 Dine at a friend’s : EAT OVER
46 Elementary school shoebox project : DIORAMA
48 “My Neighbor __”: Studio Ghibli film : TOTORO
50 Consume : INGEST
51 Insured investments: Abbr. : CDS
52 “Stay out of trouble” : LAY LOW
54 Dream state : SLEEP
58 Thousand __: Ventura County city : OAKS
59 Sondheim’s “Sweeney __” : TODD
60 Gives birth to : HAS
61 Egyptian snake : ASP

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