LA Times Crossword 28 Sep 23, Thursday

Constructed by: Jeff Stillman
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Donut

Themed answers each start with a type of DONUT, and the letters O circled in the grid represent DONUTS:

52D Treat whose varieties appear at the starts of four long answers and are represented a dozen times in this puzzle : DONUT

18A Propaganda technique that attempts to appeal to average Joes : PLAIN FOLKS
26A Accessory for early U.S. presidents : POWDERED WIG
44A Candy-coated caramels in a yellow package : SUGAR BABIES
59A Like the eyes of a person who hasn’t gotten enough sleep : GLAZED OVER

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Bill’s time: 6m 51s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Green shade : JADE

“Jade” is actually the name given to two different mineral rocks, both of which are used to make gemstones. The first is nephrite, a mineral with a varying degree of iron content, the more iron the greener the color. The second is jadeite, a sodium and aluminum-rich pyroxene. As well as being used for gemstones, both jade minerals can be carved into decorative pieces.

5 Pub offerings : PINTS

A US pint comprises 16 fluid ounces, and an imperial pint is 20 fluid ounces. The term “pint” comes into English via Old French, ultimately from the Latin “picta” meaning “painted”. The name arose from a line painted on the side of a beer glass that marked a full measure of ale.

10 Vellani who plays Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel : IMAN

Iman Vellani is a Pakistani-born Canadian actress who is best known for playing the title character (aka Kamala Khan) in the superhero miniseries “Ms. Marvel”.

14 European auto : OPEL

Adam Opel founded his company in 1863, first making sewing machines in a cowshed. Commercial success brought new premises and a new product line in 1886, namely penny-farthing bicycles. Adam Opel died in 1895, leaving his two sons with a company that made more penny-farthings and sewing machines than any other company in the world. In 1899 the two sons partnered with a locksmith and started to make cars, but not very successfully. Two years later, the locksmith was dropped in favor of a licensing arrangement with a French car company. By 1914, Opel was the largest manufacturer of automobiles in Germany. My Dad had an Opel in the seventies, a station wagon (we’d say “estate car” in Ireland) called an Opel Kadett.

15 Missouri feeder : OSAGE

Much of the Osage River in Missouri is now taken up by two large reservoirs created behind two dams that provide power for St. Louis and the surrounding area. The two reservoirs are the Truman Reservoir and the Lake of the Ozarks.

The Missouri is North America’s longest river, flowing 2,341 miles. It rises in Montana, in the Rocky Mountains, and empties into the lower Mississippi just north of St. Louis. The river is named for the Missouria Native American tribe, whose historical lands were found near the confluence of the Grand River and the Missouri, and the confluence of the Missouri and the Mississippi. The name “Missouria” came from the Illinois name for the tribe, which translates as “One who has dugout canoes”. In their own language, the Missouria call themselves “Niúachi”, meaning “People of the River Mouth”.

20 Vaping device : E-CIG

An electronic cigarette (also called an “e-cigarette”) is a battery-powered device that resembles a real cigarette. The e-cigarette vaporizes a solution that contains nicotine, forming a vapor that resembles smoke. The vapor is inhaled in a process called “vaping”, delivering nicotine into the body. The assumption is that an e-cigarette is healthier than a regular cigarette as the inhaled vapor is less harmful than inhaled smoke. But, that may not be so …

22 Gary of “13 Reasons Why” : SINISE

Actor Gary Sinise was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for playing Lieutenant Dan Taylor in the 1994 film “Forrest Gump”. Sinise then played the lead in television’s “CSI: NY” starting in 2004. Sinise was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by President Bush for his work helping Iraqi school children as well as his work with the USO.

“13 Reasons Why” (“Th1rteen R3asons Why” onscreen) is a Netflix TV drama that is based on the 2007 Jay Asher novel “Thirteen Reasons Why”. The show’s title is a reference to thirteen cassette tapes left by a high school student Hannah Baker who committed suicide, with the tapes detailing thirteen reasons why she ended her life.

25 Malleable : SOFT

Something malleable is capable of being shaped by beating with a hammer. “Malleable” comes from the Latin “malleus” meaning “hammer”. We mainly use the term figuratively these days, to describe something or someone capable of being altered by outside influences.

26 Accessory for early U.S. presidents : POWDERED WIG

In the 18th century, it became fashionable to powder men’s wigs. The main use of the powder was to give the wig a distinctive white or off-white color. The powder was usually made from finely ground starch that was scented, often with orange flower or lavender. The practice fell out of favor in the late 1700s in the English-speaking world after the British government imposed a tax on hair powder.

36 Haywire : AWRY

Haywire is wire used to bind bales of hay. Haywire is very springy, and coils of the wire are difficult to keep under control. That characteristic gives us the informal meaning of “haywire”, namely “erratic, crazy”.

37 Chardonnay adjective : OAKY

The chardonnay grape is believed to have originated in the Burgundy wine region of France. Now it’s grown “everywhere”. Drinkers of California “chards” seem to be particularly fond of oak flavor, so most chardonnay wines are aged in oak barrels or with oak chips.

38 Some “Downton Abbey” characters : EARLS

In the incredibly successful period drama “Downton Abbey”, the patriarch of the family living at Downton is Robert Crawley, the Earl of Grantham or Lord Grantham. The character is played by Hugh Bonneville. Lord Grantham married American Cora Levinson (played by Elizabeth McGovern). Lord and Lady Grantham had three daughters, and no sons. The lack of a male heir implied that the Grantham estate would pass to a male cousin, and out of the immediate family. The Grantham daughters are Lady Mary (played by Michelle Dockery), Lady Edith (played by Laura Carmichael) and Lady Sybil (played by Jessica Brown Findlay). Lady Sybil had the audacity to marry the family chauffeur, who was an Irish nationalist. The shame of it all …

39 Blood type abbr. : NEG

The most important grouping of blood types is the ABO system. Blood is classified as either A, B, AB or O, depending on the type of antigens on the surface of the red blood cells. A secondary designation of blood is the Rh factor, in which other antigens are labeled as either positive or negative. When a patient receives a blood transfusion, ideally the donor blood should be the same type as that of the recipient, as incompatible blood cells can be rejected. However, blood type O-neg can be accepted by recipients with all blood types, A, B, AB or O, and positive or negative. Hence someone with O-neg blood type is called a universal donor.

44 Candy-coated caramels in a yellow package : SUGAR BABIES

Sugar Babies are chewy, milk caramel candy bites that were introduced in 1935 by James O. Welch Company. Welch also brought out Sugar Daddy (in 1925) and Sugar Mama (in 1965). Sugar Babies were named for the song “Let Me Be Your Sugar Baby”.

47 Western Asia native : KURD

Most of the Kurdish people live in a region known as Kurdistan, which stretches into parts of Iran, Syria, Turkey as well as northern Iraq.

53 Home for una familia : LA CASA

In Spanish, “una familia” (a family) might live in a “casa” (house).

56 Bass, for one : ALE

The red triangle on the label of a bottle of Bass Ale was registered in 1875 and is UK Registered Trade Mark (TM) No: 00001, the first trademark issued in the world.

58 Lawn mower brand : TORO

Toro is a manufacturer of lawn mowers and snow removal equipment that is based in Bloomington, Minnesota. The company was founded in 1914 to build tractor engines.

62 Chase and Citi rival, popularly : BOFA

Today’s Bank of America traces its roots back to the Bank of Italy, believe it or not, which was a San Francisco bank founded in 1904 to service working-class Italian Americans. Bank of Italy evolved into Bank of America through a series of mergers.

63 “Dallas” surname : EWING

The TV soap “Dallas” revolved around the Ewing family. The series that ran for 13 years was originally intended as a five-part mini-series, with the main characters being newlyweds Bobby and Pam Ewing. But, the devious character in the piece, Bobby’s brother J. R., became so popular with audiences that the series was extended with J. R. at the center of the story. Who can remember who shot J.R.? (It was Kristin Shepard: J.R.’s mistress, who was also his sister-in-law).

66 Candidate list : SLATE

Back in the early 1800s, “to slate” meant “to nominate”, perhaps by writing a name on a slate. By the end of the 1800s, this usage of “slate” extended to “propose, schedule”.

67 Dry run : TEST

A dry run is a performance held privately before appearing in front of the public. Apparently, the term “dry run” comes from US firefighters. Back in the day, fire crews would make practice “runs” to the location of a supposed fire. As water was not pumped, the exercise was known as a “dry run”.

Down

4 Poem of lament : ELEGY

Perhaps the most famous elegy in the English language is that written by Thomas Gray, which he completed in 1750. His “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” is the source of many oft-quoted phrases, including:

Celestial fire
Far from the Madding Crowd
Kindred spirit

5 Hall and Oates, e.g. : POP DUO

Daryl Hall & John Oates are a pop music duo who were most successful in the late seventies and early eighties. They had six number-one hits, including the 1982 release “Maneater”.

7 Bread brushed with ghee : NAAN

Ghee is clarified butter used in South Asian cuisines. “Ghee” comes from Sanskrit, and translates as “sprinkled”.

8 __ Fridays : TGI

T.G.I. Fridays is an American restaurant chain that was founded in 1965 in New York City. Today there are over a thousand T.G.I. Fridays restaurants in over 50 countries. I think that Fridays has always been particularly successful overseas. I used to visit one a lot with my family when we lived in the Philippines, and I believe the most successful Fridays restaurant anywhere in the world is the one in Haymarket Leicester Square in London in the UK.

11 Mauritania neighbor : MALI

The Republic of Mali is a landlocked country in western Africa located south of Algeria. Formerly known as French Sudan, the nation’s most famous city is Timbuktu. Mali is the third-largest producer of gold on the continent, after South Africa and Ghana.

The Islamic Republic of Mauritania is a nation in North Africa on the Atlantic coast. It is named after the old Roman province of Mauretania, although the ancient province was located further north in what is now Morocco and part of Algeria.

12 Torah storers : ARKS

The Torah ark is found in a synagogue, and is the ornamental container in which the Torah scrolls are stored. The word “Torah” best translates as “teaching” or “law”. The Torah ark is referred to as the “Aron Kodesh” in Hebrew, meaning “Holy Ark”.

13 Nasdaq rival : NYSE

The roots of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) go back to 1792 when a group of 24 stock brokers set up the New York Stock & Exchange Board. They did so in an agreement signed under a buttonwood tree outside 68 Wall Street. That document became known as the Buttonwood Agreement. Today, the NYSE is located in a National Historic Landmark building with the address 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City.

19 Military flute : FIFE

A fife is a small flute that is often used in military and marching bands. The name “fife” comes from the German “Pfeife” meaning “pipe”.

25 Composer Prokofiev : SERGEI

Sergei Prokofiev was a great Russian composer and pianist, certainly one of the most admired of the 20th century composers. Prokofiev left Russia not long after the October Revolution of 1917, with his first port of call being San Francisco. He spent a couple of years in America, but never settled. He moved to Paris next, then to Bavaria, and back to Paris where he lived for many years. However, when things calmed down in the Soviet Union, and the attitudes towards the arts made favorable changes, he moved back home permanently. He ended up residing in Moscow, very close to Red Square. He had the misfortune to die on the very same day as Josef Stalin. His funeral had to be delayed as family and friends could not get Prokofiev’s body out of his apartment due to the throngs of mourners for Stalin.

28 Dorky sort : DWEEB

“Dweeb” is relatively recent American slang that came out of college life in the late sixties. Dweeb, squarepants, nerd; they’re all not-nice terms that mean the same thing, i.e. someone excessively studious and socially inept.

30 Swedish superstore with a yellow-and-blue logo : IKEA

The IKEA furniture stores use the colors blue and yellow for brand recognition. Blue and yellow are the national colors of Sweden, where IKEA was founded and is headquartered.

31 Ibsen’s “Peer __” : GYNT

Henrik Ibsen’s play “Peer Gynt” is based on a Scandinavian fairy tale “Per Gynt”. The incidental music to the play, written by Edvard Grieg, is some of the most approachable classical music ever written, at least in my humble opinion …

33 Ko’olau Mountains locale : OAHU

The Koʻolau Range on the island of Oʻahu isn’t really a mountain range as such. It is what remains of a single peak, the Koʻolau Volcano. The entire eastern half of the volcano slid into the Pacific Ocean in prehistoric times, leaving the western half essentially intact. The Koʻolau Range was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1972.

35 “On the Waterfront” director : ELIA KAZAN

Elia Kazan won Oscars for best director in 1948 for “Gentleman’s Agreement” and in 1955 for “On The Waterfront”. He was recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences when he was given the 1998 Academy Honorary Award citing his lifetime achievement in the industry. Kazan also directed “East of Eden”, which introduced James Dean to movie audiences, and “Splendor in the Grass” that included Warren Beatty in his debut role.

The 1954 drama “On the Waterfront”, starring Marlon Brando, told a story of violence and corruption among longshoremen. The movie was based on a series of 24 articles written by investigative journalist Malcolm Johnston and published in “The New York Sun”. The original news stories uncovered mob infiltration on the New York City Waterfront, but the location for the film was chosen as Hoboken, New Jersey.

51 Native New Yorkers : ERIES

The Erie people lived on lands south of Lake Erie, in parts of the modern-day US states of New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio. The Erie were sometimes referred to as the Cat Nation, a reference to the mountain lions that were ever-present in the area that they lived. The name “Erie” is a shortened form of “Erielhonan” meaning “long tail”, possibly a further reference to the mountain lion or cat, which was possibly used as a totem. The Erie people gave their name to the Great Lake.

53 Pride Month initials : LGBT

The police raided a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn on June 29th, 1969. That raid triggered a spate of violent demonstrations led by the LGBT community. Now known as the Stonewall riots, those demonstrations are viewed by many as a significant event leading to the modern-day fight for LGBT rights in the US. Since then, June has been chosen as LGBT Pride Month in recognition of the Stonewall riots.

54 Household succulent : ALOE

Succulent plants are those with thickened stems and/or leaves that have evolved to retain water. As such, succulents are often found where the climate is particularly dry. The term “succulent” comes from the Latin “sucus” meaning “juice, sap”.

55 Bistro : CAFE

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

56 New Balance competitor : AVIA

The Avia brand name for athletic shoes was chosen as “avia” is the Latin word for “to fly”, and suggests the concept of aviation. Avia was founded in Oregon in 1979.

57 Fast time : LENT

In Latin, the Christian season that is now called “Lent” was termed “quadragesima” (meaning “fortieth”), a reference to the forty days that Jesus spent in the desert before beginning his public ministry. When the church began its move in the Middle Ages towards using the vernacular, the term “Lent” was introduced. “Lent” comes from “lenz”, the German word for “spring”.

60 Midnight mouser : OWL

Much of an owl’s diet consists of small mammals. As a result, humans have used owls for centuries to control rodent populations, usually by placing a nest box for owls on a property. Despite the fact that owls and humans live together in relative harmony, owls have been known to attack humans from time to time. Celebrated English bird photographer Eric Hosking lost an eye when attacked by a tawny owl that he was trying to photograph. Hosking wrote a 1970 autobiography with the wry title “An Eye for a Bird”.

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Green shade : JADE
5 Pub offerings : PINTS
10 Vellani who plays Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel : IMAN
14 European auto : OPEL
15 Missouri feeder : OSAGE
16 On guard : WARY
17 Curly cabbage : KALE
18 Propaganda technique that attempts to appeal to average Joes : PLAIN FOLKS
20 Vaping device : E-CIG
21 Family room : DEN
22 Gary of “13 Reasons Why” : SINISE
23 “Who else would I be talking about?” : YES, YOU
25 Malleable : SOFT
26 Accessory for early U.S. presidents : POWDERED WIG
32 “Check,” in poker : NO BET
36 Haywire : AWRY
37 Chardonnay adjective : OAKY
38 Some “Downton Abbey” characters : EARLS
39 Blood type abbr. : NEG
40 Compare : LIKEN
41 Cuisine with green and red curry : THAI
42 Suit to __ : A TEE
43 Troubled : ATE AT
44 Candy-coated caramels in a yellow package : SUGAR BABIES
47 Western Asia native : KURD
48 Engaged, as gears : MESHED
53 Home for una familia : LA CASA
56 Bass, for one : ALE
58 Lawn mower brand : TORO
59 Like the eyes of a person who hasn’t gotten enough sleep : GLAZED OVER
61 Volunteer’s phrase : I’M IN
62 Chase and Citi rival, popularly : BOFA
63 “Dallas” surname : EWING
64 “In __ of gifts …” : LIEU
65 Adult-to-be : TEEN
66 Candidate list : SLATE
67 Dry run : TEST

Down

1 Lighthearted : JOKEY
2 With speed : APACE
3 Lunch spots : DELIS
4 Poem of lament : ELEGY
5 Hall and Oates, e.g. : POP DUO
6 Tropical getaway : ISLE
7 Bread brushed with ghee : NAAN
8 __ Fridays : TGI
9 Like some overload : SENSORY
10 “You can’t make me!” : I WON’T DO IT!
11 Mauritania neighbor : MALI
12 Torah storers : ARKS
13 Nasdaq rival : NYSE
19 Military flute : FIFE
24 Chooses : OPTS
25 Composer Prokofiev : SERGEI
27 Opening lines? : WANT AD
28 Dorky sort : DWEEB
29 Bring around : WAKE
30 Swedish superstore with a yellow-and-blue logo : IKEA
31 Ibsen’s “Peer __” : GYNT
32 Trawling equipment : NETS
33 Ko’olau Mountains locale : OAHU
34 Show off : BRAG
35 “On the Waterfront” director : ELIA KAZAN
40 Cut with a light : LASE
42 Wears down : ABRADES
45 Chicanery : RUSE
46 Come forth : EMERGE
49 Circus prop : STILT
50 Bro : HOMIE
51 Native New Yorkers : ERIES
52 Treat whose varieties appear at the starts of four long answers and are represented a dozen times in this puzzle : DONUT
53 Pride Month initials : LGBT
54 Household succulent : ALOE
55 Bistro : CAFE
56 New Balance competitor : AVIA
57 Fast time : LENT
60 Midnight mouser : OWL

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