LA Times Crossword 30 Jul 24, Tuesday - LAXCrossword.com (2024)

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Roadie’s cargo : AMPS

A “roadie” is someone who loads, unloads and sets up equipment for musicians on tour, on the “road”.

14 Bus route, often : LOOP

We use the term “bus” for a mode of transportation as it is an abbreviated form of the original “omnibus”. We imported “omnibus” via French from Latin, in which language it means “for all”. The idea is that an omnibus is a carriage “for all”.

21 Gee preceder : EFF

In the alphabet, the letter F (eff) precedes the letter G (gee).

23 Room under the roof : ATTIC

An attic or loft is a room or space located below the roof of a building. The term “attic” is a shortened form of “attic story”, the uppermost story or level of a house. This term “attic story” originally applied to a low, decorative level built on top of the uppermost story behind a building’s decorative facade. This use of decoration at the top of buildings was common in ancient Greece, and was particularly important in the Attica style. That Attica style was so called because it originated in the historical region of Attica that encompassed the city of Athens. And that’s how our attics are linked to ancient Greece.

24 Technique for closing a seam : LADDER STITCH

The ladder stitch, also known as the invisible stitch, is a hand-sewing technique used to close seams discreetly. It’s particularly useful for finishing stuffed toys, pillows, or lining hems, creating an almost invisible closure. The stitch works by creating interlocking loops of thread that resemble the rungs of a ladder, and when pulled taut, these loops disappear into the fabric. A similar stitch can be used to close an incision in the skin, when it is called a running subcuticular suture.

27 Knightley of “Atonement” : KEIRA

English actress Keira Knightley had her big break in the movies when she co-starred in 2002’s “Bend It Like Beckham”. Knightley played one of my favorite movie roles, Elizabeth Bennett in 2005’s “Pride and Prejudice”. Knightley won a Golden Globe for that performance, although that 2005 film isn’t the best adaptation of Austen’s novel in my humble opinion …

“Atonement” is an excellent 2007 big-screen adaptation of Ian McEwan’s 2001 novel of the same name. The cast is outstanding, including James McEvoy, Keira Knightley and Vanessa Redgrave. I was most impressed by the performance of young Saiorse Ronan, a performance that launched her Hollywood career.

29 Painter’s prop : EASEL

The term “easel” comes from an old Dutch word meaning “donkey”, would you believe? The idea is that an easel carries its load (an oil painting, say) just as a donkey would be made to carry a load.

30 Like many consignment store items : GENTLY USED

A consignment store is an outlet that sells used items for consignors. Someone wishing to sell a used item (the consignor) consigns it to the store owner (consignee) who usually charges a fee once the item is sold. The consignor owns the item until that sale takes place.

37 Happy Valley sch. : PSU

State College is a college town in Central Pennsylvania that is home to the University Park campus of Pennsylvania State University. The area surrounding State College suffered far less than other regions in Pennsylvania during the Great Depression, earning it the name “Happy Valley”. The local economy was buoyed in the 1930s by Penn State’s presence.

Pennsylvania State University (PSU) was founded in 1855 as the Farmer’s High School of Pennsylvania. It is listed as one of the “Public Ivies”, a public university that offers a quality of education comparable to that of the Ivy League.

41 North Carolina college town : CHAPEL HILL

The University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill started enrolling students way back in 1795, making it the first public university in the country to open its door to students.

45 Hawaii Senator Hirono : MAZIE

Mazie Hirono assumed the office of US Senator for the state of Hawaii in 2013. Immediately before her time in the Senate, she served in the US House of Representatives, starting in 2007. She is a Japanese American, and was born in f*ckushima, Japan, and is the first Japanese-born US Senator.

47 Farm animals with horns : GOATS

Male goats are bucks or billies, although castrated males are known as wethers. Female goats are does or nannies, and young goats are referred to as kids.

54 Ramen soup broth : DASHI

Dashi is a style of cooking stock used in Japanese cuisine. Most notably perhaps, “dashi” is the stock that is used as the base for miso soup. Traditional dashi is a fish stock to which is added edible kelp called kombu and shavings of preserved and fermented skipjack tuna called katsuobushi.

60 Hamburger franchise, and what can be found at the starts of 17-, 24-, 30-, 41-, and 48-Across : FIVE GUYS

Five Guys is a chain of hamburger joints that started out in Arlington, Virginia and now operates worldwide. Even though the chain was founded by Janie and Jerry Murrell, the “five guys” were Jerry and the couple’s four sons.

62 NCAA group that will add four new members in 2024 : BIG TEN

The Big Ten is the nation’s oldest Division I college athletic conference. It was founded in 1896, and earned the name “Big Nine” in 1899 when Iowa and Indiana joined to bring the number of teams in the conference to nine. The conference name was changed to the Big Ten after Michigan rejoined in 1917. Right after WWII, the University of Chicago dropped out so the conference became known as the Big Nine again until 1949. The official designation of “Big Ten” was adopted in 1987 when the conference (once again with a complement of ten teams) registered as a not-for-profit corporation. It was decided to keep the official name of Big Ten when Penn State joined in 1990 bringing the number of schools to the level of eleven. The number of schools in the conference continues to evolve, but that “Big Ten” moniker persists.

64 Verdi opera : 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!

65 Dolorous donkey : EEYORE

Eeyore is the donkey character in A. A. Milne’s “Winnie-the-Pooh”. He is very lovable, but has a gloomy and pessimistic outlook on life.

66 Barclays Center baller : NET

The Barclays Center is an arena in Brooklyn, New York that is home to the Brooklyn Nets of the NBA, and the New York Liberty of the WNBA. Barclays ended up paying over $200 million for the naming rights, even though the London-based banking group has no retail banks or ATMs in the US.

Down

1 Pillar of Islam known as Zakat : ALMS

Followers of the Muslim tradition believe in the Five Pillars of Islam, five obligatory acts that underpin Muslim life. The Five Pillars are:

1. The Islamic creed
2. Daily prayer
3. Almsgiving (Zakat)
4. Fasting during the month of Ramadan
5. The pilgrimage to Mecca (haj, hajj, hadj) once during a lifetime

2 Castle protection : MOAT

A moat is a protective trench that surrounds a castle, say, or an exhibit in a zoo. A moat may or may not be filled with water.

3 Pay (up) : PONY

“To pony up” means “to pay”. Apparently, the term originated as a slang use of the Latin “legem pone” that was once used for “money”. “Legem Pone” was the title of the Psalm that was read out on March 25 each year, and March 25 was the first payday of the year in days gone by.

4 “Tell us!” : SPILL IT!

To spill the beans is to divulge a secret. The expression first appeared in American English, in the early 1900s. The phrase arose as an alternative to “spoil the beans” or “upset the applecart”. The similarly meaning phrase “spill the tea” is more prevalent on the other side of the Atlantic.

8 “People Puzzler” airer : GSN

Game Show Network (GSN)

“People Puzzler” is a game show hosted by actress Leah Remini that is based on the crosswords published in “People” magazine. Those would be celebrity and pop-culture themed crosswords, not one of my strengths …

9 Weasel cousins : STOATS

The stoat has dark brown fur in the summer, and white fur in the winter. Sometimes the term “ermine” is used for the animal during the winter when the fur is white. Ermine skins have long been prized by royalty and are often used for white trim on ceremonial robes.

Weasels are small mammals with long, thin bodies. That body shape is an advantage when weasels chase their prey into narrow burrows.

12 Shrine centerpiece : RELIC

A relic is something that has survived from the past, reminding us of that past. In the world of religion, a relic is an object revered due to its association with a saint or martyr.

13 Course where one might study Jung, familiarly : PSYCH

Carl Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist, and the founder of analytical psychology. Jung was very much associated with the analysis of dreams, and also introduced us to the psychological concepts of introversion and extroversion.

18 June birthstone : PEARL

Here is the “official” list of birthstones, by month, that we tend to use today:

• January: Garnet
• February: Amethyst
• March: Bloodstone or Aquamarine
• April: Diamond
• May: Emerald
• June: Pearl or Moonstone
• July: Ruby
• August: Sardonyx or Peridot
• September: Sapphire or Lapis Lazuli
• October: Opal or Pink Tourmaline
• November: Topaz or Citrine
• December: Turquoise or Zircon (also now, Tanzanite)

28 Study of bugs : ENTOMOLOGY

Entomology is a branch of zoology concerned with the study of insects. The etymology(!) of “entomology” is the Greek “entomon” (meaning “insect”) and “logia” (meaning “study of”). In turn, the Greek word “entomos” for insect is a literal translation into Greek of “having a notch or cut”, in deference to the observation by Aristotle that insects have segmented bodies.

30 Tech that might repeat “Make a U-turn” : GPS

A global positioning system (GPS) is known as a satellite navigation system (Sat Nav) in Britain and Ireland.

32 Org. with a Popular Baby Names page : SSA

The Social Security Administration (SSA) publishes a list of the 1,000 most common baby names for the prior year annually, just before Mother’s Day. The list is compiled using applications for Social Security cards.

40 Become smitten with : TAKEN TO

“Smitten” is the past participle of “to smite”, meaning “to inflict a heavy blow”. We tend to use “smitten” to mean “affected by love, love-struck”.

41 Bengals, on scoreboards : CIN

The NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals team was founded in 1966 as a member of the American Football League (AFL). There was an earlier team called the Bengals in the city that played from 1937 to 1941. That team used the “Bengal” name because Cincinnati Zoo was home to a very rare Bengal tiger.

43 “Royals” singer : LORDE

“Royals” is a 2012 song co-written and recorded by New Zealander performer Lorde that served as her debut single (in 2013). Lorde wrote the lyrics to “Royals” in 30 minutes, when she was just 15 years old.

49 Perez of “Do the Right Thing” : ROSIE

Rosie Perez is an American actress of Puerto Rican descent born in New York City. As well as pursuing her acting career, Perez is an activist promoting Puerto Rican rights, and was arrested in 2000 at a rally to protest US Navy weapons-training off the coast of Puerto Rico.

“Do the Right Thing” is a Spike Lee movie that was released in 1989. Much of the action in the film is centered on a local pizzeria called “Sal’s” owned by Italian-American Salvatore Frangione (played by Danny Aiello).

51 “Closer” actor Owen : CLIVE

English actor Clive Owen first grabbed the public’s attention in his native land in the early nineties, when he played the lead in a popular TV show called “Chancer” about a likable conman. More recently, Owen has been playing Dr. John W. Thackery on the Cinemax medical drama series “The Knick”.

“Closer” is a 2004 film written by British playwright Patrick Marber that is based on his own 1997 play of the same name. The four lead roles are played by some impressive actors: Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman and Clive Owen. Owen actually starred in the original stage play in 1997, but in the movie Owen’s role was taken on by Jude Law. Go figure …

56 Jekyll’s counterpart : HYDE

Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” was published in 1886. There are many tales surrounding the writing of the story, including that the author wrote the basic tale in just three to six days, and spent a few weeks simply refining it. Allegedly, Stevenson’s use of cocaine stimulated his creative juices during those few days of writing.

59 Small square : ONE

In mathematics, one to the power of one is one, one squared (to the power of two) is one, one cubed (to the power of three) is one, etc.

61 Nov. honoree : VET

Veterans Day used to be known as Armistice Day, and is observed on November 11th each year. This particular date was chosen as the Armistice that ended WWI was signed on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.