LA Times Crossword 28 Aug 23, Monday

Constructed by: Amie Walker
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Center Console

Themed answers each include a gaming CONSOLE somewhere in the CENTER as a hidden word:

37A Car’s storage compartment, or a feature of 17-, 24-, 48-, and 58-Across? : CENTER CONSOLE

17A Frozen drink sometimes made with rosé : WINE SLUSHIE (hiding “NES”)
24A Inadvertently reveals a secret advantage : TIPS ONE‘S HAND (hiding “PS-ONE”)
48A Some tissue dispensers : KLEENEX BOXES (hiding “XBOX”)
58A “SNL” alum known for her Target Lady sketches : KRISTEN WIIG (hiding “WII”)

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Bill’s time: 5m 40s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

7 South Pacific resort island : BALI

Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east. It is known as the “Island of the Gods” due to its rich and unique culture, which is steeped in religious and spiritual beliefs.

14 Source of prophecies : ORACLE

In ancient Greece and Rome, an oracle was someone believed to be inspired by the gods to give wise counsel. The word “oracle” derives from the Latin “orare” meaning “to speak”, which is the same root for our word “orator”. One of the most important oracles of ancient Greece was Pythia, the high priestess to Apollo at Delphi.

16 Sculling blade : OAR

A scull is a boat used for competitive rowing. The main hull of the boat is often referred to as a shell. Crew members who row the boat can be referred to as “oars”. And, a scull is also an oar mounted on the stern of a small boat. It’s all very confusing …

17 Frozen drink sometimes made with rosé : WINE SLUSHIE (hiding “NES”)

Rosé wines get their color from the skins of the grapes, although the intensity of the color is not sufficient to make them red wines. Of the varying type of rosé wines available, we are most familiar with sweet White Zinfandels. Personally, I am fond of the dry Provençal rosé wines …

The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was sold in North America from 1985 to 1995. It was the biggest selling gaming console of the era. Nintendo replaced the NES with Wii, which is also the biggest-selling game console in the world.

21 Exchanges on WhatsApp, for short : IMS

WhatsApp is a popular messaging service used on smartphones that sends messages and other files from one mobile phone number to another. Launched in 2011, WhatsApp is incredibly popular, and indeed the most popular messaging service used today. Facebook acquired WhatsApp in 2014, paying over $19 billion.

22 Totally fine : A-OK

Our term “A-OK” is supposedly an abbreviation for “A(ll systems are) OK”, and arose at NASA in the sixties during the space program.

24 Inadvertently reveals a secret advantage : TIPS ONE’S HAND (hiding “PS-ONE”)

Sony introduced the PlayStation line of video game consoles in 1994.

32 Washington’s capital : OLYMPIA

Olympia is the capital of Washington State and is located in the Puget Sound region. The city’s name was chosen in 1852, and is a reference to the view of the Olympic Mountains to the northwest.

33 “East of Eden” son : 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.

34 “Hulk” star Eric : BANA

Eric Bana is an Australian actor who enjoyed a successful career in his home country before breaking into Hollywood playing an American Delta Force sergeant in “Black Hawk Down”. A couple of years later he played the lead in Ang Lee’s 2003 movie “Hulk”, the role of Dr Bruce Banner. More recently he played the Romulan villain Nero, in the 2009 “Star Trek” movie.

“Hulk” is a 2003 film with Eric Bana starring in the title role, as the Hulk and as the superhero’s alter ego Dr. Bruce Banner. “Hulk” received a mediocre reception, and so it was remade as “The Incredible Hulk” in 2008.

36 Heart test, briefly : ECG

An EKG measures the electrical activity in the heart. Back in my homeland of Ireland, an EKG is known as an ECG (for electrocardiogram). We use the German name in the US, Elektrokardiogramm, giving us EKG. Apparently the abbreviation EKG is preferred, as ECG might be confused (if poorly handwritten, I guess) with EEG, the abbreviation for an electroencephalogram.

44 Connecticut’s time zone : EASTERN

The official nickname of Connecticut (CT) is the “Constitution State”, but can also be referred to as the Nutmeg State, the Provisions State, and the Land of Steady Habits.

48 Some tissue dispensers : KLEENEX BOXES (hiding “XBOX”)

Even though “Kleenex” is sometimes used today as a generic term for a tissue, “Kleenex” is a brand name owned by Kimberly-Clark. Kleenex facial tissues came about after WW1. The material used in the tissue had been developed as a replacement for cotton that was in high demand as surgical tissue during the war. The material developed was called “Cellucotton” and was used in gas mask filters. It was first sold as a facial tissue under the name “Kleenex” in 1924.

The Xbox line of video game consoles is made by Microsoft. The original Xbox platform was followed by Xbox 360 and more recently by Xbox One. Microsoft’s Xbox competes directly with Sony’s PlayStation and Nintendo’s Wii.

51 Opposite of paleo- : NEO-

The prefix “paleo-” means “prehistoric, primitive”. It comes from the Greek word “palaios” which means “old, ancient”. The prefix “neo-” would be the opposite, meaning “new, recent”.

56 Fake user : BOT

A bot is a computer program designed to imitate human behavior. It might crawl around the Web doing searches for example, or it might participate in discussions in chat rooms by giving pre-programmed responses. It might also act as a competitor in a computer game.

58 “SNL” alum known for her Target Lady sketches : KRISTEN WIIG (hiding “WII”)

Kristen Wiig is a comic actress who appears on “Saturday Night Live”. She also made an appearance on the first season of Spike TV’s quirky “The Joe Schmo Show”, playing “Dr. Pat”. More recently, she co-wrote and starred in the 2011 hit film “Bridesmaids”, and co-starred in the 2016 reboot of “Ghostbusters”.

Introduced in 2006, Nintendo’s Wii quickly became the biggest-selling game console in the world.

67 Fifth Avenue store : SAKS

Fifth Avenue in New York City is sometimes referred to as the “most expensive street in the world”. The section that runs through Midtown Manhattan is home to upscale stores, such as Saks Fifth Avenue.

68 Key tahini ingredient : SESAME

“Tahini” is the Arabic name for a paste made from ground sesame seeds. Tahini is a major ingredient in hummus, one of my favorite dishes.

Down

1 Google Sheets lines : ROWS

Google Sheets is the spreadsheet that is included in the “office” suite that comes free with Google Drive. I’m a big fan …

2 Cleveland’s lake : ERIE

Cleveland, Ohio was named after the man who led the team that surveyed the area prior to the founding of the city. General Moses Cleaveland did his work in 1796 and then left Ohio, never to return again.

3 “Mariners Apartment Complex” singer Del Rey : LANA

“Mariners Apartment Complex” is a 2018 song co-written and recorded by Lana Del Rey. She wrote the song for a 2019 studio album “NFR!”, which stands for “Norman F***ing Rockwell!”

5 High rumblers : ELS

Elevated railroad (El)

6 King of Spain : FELIPE

Felipe VI became King of Spain in 2014 when his father, King Juan Carlos I, abdicated. Felipe is quite the competitive sailor, and comes from a sailing family. He was a member of the Spanish sailing team in the 1992 Olympics held in Barcelona. His father and sister also sailed for Spain’s Olympic sailing team.

7 Low rumbler : BASSO

The bass is the lowest male singing voice. A man with such a voice might be called a “basso” (plural “bassi”). In an opera, the villain of the piece is usually played by a basso.

11 Vocal group that sings the “Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?” theme song : ROCKAPELLA

Rockapella is an a cappella group from New York City. Formed in 1986, the 5-man group is particularly popular in Japan. They also appear as the vocal house band and comedy troupe of the children’s geography game show “Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?”

The “Carmen Sandiego” franchise is a remarkably clever and helpful series of computer games and other media that is designed to educate users (primarily children). The applications were originally designed to use an exciting espionage motif in order to expose young people to geography and history, and even math, English and other subjects.

12 Spot for an AirPod : EAR

AirPods are Apple’s line of bluetooth earbuds. When AirPods were introduced in 2016, the market reacted with some skepticism. The left and right AirPods are not connected by any wire, so there was concern that individual earbuds could fall out of the ear, and possibly get lost. Another concern was Apple’s stated intent to abandon the wired headphone socket on new iPhone models.

23 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.

26 Taboos : NO-NOS

The word “taboo” was introduced into English by Captain Cook in his book “A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean”. Cook described “tabu” (likely imitative of a Tongan word that he had heard) as something that was both consecrated and forbidden.

27 Flair : ELAN

Our word “élan” was imported from French, in which language the word has a similar meaning to ours, i.e “style, flair”.

29 Former U.N. head Hammarskjöld : DAG

Dag Hammarskjöld was the second secretary-general of the United Nations, right up until his death in a plane crash in Rhodesia in 1961. The crash was considered suspicious at the time as the bodyguards were found to have bullet wounds when they died, but this was put down to bullets exploding in the fire after the crash.

30 Related to the lower back : SACRAL

The human spine comprises five regions of vertebrae, which are (starting at the neck):

Cervical (C1 – C7)
Thoracic (T1 – T12)
Lumbar (L1 – L5)
Sacral (S1 – S5)
Coccyx (also known as the tailbone)

31 On-screen command after typing one’s PIN : PRESS ENTER

One enters a Personal Identification Number (PIN) when using an Automated Teller Machine (ATM). Given that the N in PIN stands for “number”, then “PIN number” is a redundant phrase. And, given that the M in ATM stands for “machine”, then “ATM machine” is a redundant phrase as well. Grr …!

34 Yankee Stadium’s borough : BRONX

Yankee Stadium in the Bronx in New York City cost $2.3 billion to construct, making it the most expensive baseball stadium ever built. $1.2 billion of that cost was covered using public funds.

38 To be, in Paris : ETRE

The French capital Paris is nicknamed “La Ville Lumière” (The City of Light). There are two justifications cited for the moniker. Firstly, the city played a leading role during Europe’s Age of Enlightenment, in the 18th century. In fact, the French refer to the era as “the Century of Lights”. Secondly, and more literally, Paris was one of the first cities in Europe to adopt widespread gas street lighting. There were about 56,000 gas lights illuminating the streets of Paris in the 1860s.

39 Trig ratio : SINE

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.

40 Pulitzer-winning poet Sharon : OLDS

Poet Sharon Olds won a Pulitzer Prize in Poetry in 2013. She was also the first American woman to win the T. S. Eliot Prize for Poetry.

46 Long mushrooms : ENOKIS

Enokitake (also known as “enoki”) are long and thin white mushrooms often added to soups or salads.

49 Wrigley corners : BASES

The famous ballpark that is home to the Chicago Cubs was built in 1914. Back then it was known as Weeghman Park, before becoming Cubs Park when the Cubs arrived in 1920. It was given the name Wrigley Field in 1926, after the owner William Wrigley, Jr. of chewing gum fame. Wrigley Field is noted as the only professional ballpark that has ivy covering the outfield walls. The ivy is a combination of Boston Ivy and Japanese Bittersweet, both of which can survive the harsh winters in Chicago.

53 Opera set in Egypt : AIDA

“Aida” is a celebrated opera by Giuseppe Verdi that is based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette. Mariette also designed the costumes and stages for the opening performance. The opera was first staged in 1871 in an opera house in Cairo. In the storyline, Aida is an Ethiopian princess brought into Egypt as a slave. Radamès is an Egyptian commander who falls in love with her, and then complications arise!

54 Carpe __: seize the day : DIEM

“Carpe diem” is a quotation from Horace, one of ancient Rome’s leading lyric poets. “Carpe diem” translates from Latin as “seize the day” or “enjoy the day”. The satirical motto of a procrastinator is “carpe mañana”, “translating” as “seize tomorrow”.

55 Shrek, for one : OGRE

Before “Shrek” was a successful movie franchise and Broadway musical, it was a children’s picture book called “Shrek!” that was authored and illustrated by William Steig. The title “Shrek!” came from the German/Yiddish word Schreck, meaning “fear” or “terror”.

56 “Putting my phone down a sec” : BRB

Be right back (brb)

57 Taylor Swift’s “__ Song” : OUR

“Our Song” is a number recorded by Taylor Swift in 2006. Swift wrote the song during her freshman year for a high school talent show.

61 Alumna bio word : NEE

An alumnus (plural “alumni”) is a graduate or former student of a school or college. The female form is “alumna” (plural “alumnae”). The term comes into English from Latin, in which an alumnus is a foster-son or pupil. “Alum” is an informal term used for either an alumna or alumnus.

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 __ pitcher: bullpen figure : RELIEF
7 South Pacific resort island : BALI
11 Agt. : REP
14 Source of prophecies : ORACLE
15 “Beg pardon” : AHEM
16 Sculling blade : OAR
17 Frozen drink sometimes made with rosé : WINE SLUSHIE (hiding “NES”)
19 Get weepy : CRY
20 Salty expanse : SEA
21 Exchanges on WhatsApp, for short : IMS
22 Totally fine : A-OK
24 Inadvertently reveals a secret advantage : TIPS ONE’S HAND (hiding “PS-ONE”)
30 Slangy “reckon” : ‘SPOSE
32 Washington’s capital : OLYMPIA
33 “East of Eden” son : ARON
34 “Hulk” star Eric : BANA
36 Heart test, briefly : ECG
37 Car’s storage compartment, or a feature of 17-, 24-, 48-, and 58-Across? : CENTER CONSOLE
41 Hesitant sounds : ERS
42 “Just keeping you on your __” : TOES
43 Misfortunes : ILLS
44 Connecticut’s time zone : EASTERN
47 Conclude by : END AT
48 Some tissue dispensers : KLEENEX BOXES (hiding “XBOX”)
51 Opposite of paleo- : NEO-
52 Smartphone download : APP
53 Commotion : ADO
56 Fake user : BOT
58 “SNL” alum known for her Target Lady sketches : KRISTEN WIIG (hiding “WII”)
63 Regret : RUE
64 Not in use : IDLE
65 Boss : LEADER
66 Shiverer’s sound : BRR!
67 Fifth Avenue store : SAKS
68 Key tahini ingredient : SESAME

Down

1 Google Sheets lines : ROWS
2 Cleveland’s lake : ERIE
3 “Mariners Apartment Complex” singer Del Rey : LANA
4 Freezer cubes : ICE
5 High rumblers : ELS
6 King of Spain : FELIPE
7 Low rumbler : BASSO
8 Spa sigh : AHH!
9 Floral garland : LEI
10 “Either way works for me” : I’M EASY
11 Vocal group that sings the “Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?” theme song : ROCKAPELLA
12 Spot for an AirPod : EAR
13 Get too personal : PRY
18 Hesitant sounds : UMS
23 Unit of resistance : OHM
24 Animated character : TOON
25 “That __ fair!” : ISN’T
26 Taboos : NO-NOS
27 Flair : ELAN
28 Most warm : NICEST
29 Former U.N. head Hammarskjöld : DAG
30 Related to the lower back : SACRAL
31 On-screen command after typing one’s PIN : PRESS ENTER
34 Yankee Stadium’s borough : BRONX
35 Expert serve : ACE
38 To be, in Paris : ETRE
39 Trig ratio : SINE
40 Pulitzer-winning poet Sharon : OLDS
41 Shrill shriek : EEK!
45 Concert keepsake : TEE
46 Long mushrooms : ENOKIS
47 Throws out : EXPELS
49 Wrigley corners : BASES
50 Make a choice : OPT
53 Opera set in Egypt : AIDA
54 Carpe __: seize the day : DIEM
55 Shrek, for one : OGRE
56 “Putting my phone down a sec” : BRB
57 Taylor Swift’s “__ Song” : OUR
59 Nutritional amt. : RDA
60 Kind : ILK
61 Alumna bio word : NEE
62 “What __ I thinking?” : WAS

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