LA Times Crossword 11 May 24, Saturday

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Constructed by: Rich Norris
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: None

Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers

Bill’s time: 15m 48s

Bill’s errors: 2

• SISTO (Sosto)
• RIDIN’ (Ridon!!)

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Loaf traditionally made with clabbered milk : SODA BREAD

Soda bread is a bread in which sodium bicarbonate is used as a raising agent instead of yeast. It is a bread common in Irish cuisine, and indeed we usually refer to sodium bicarbonate as “bread soda”.

Clabber is unpasteurized milk that has been left to sour. There isn’t much clabber around these days, as almost all milk is pasteurized, and the pasteurization process kills the bacteria needed to clabber the milk. Commercially produced buttermilk is a similar product. This is made from pasteurized milk that is subsequently inoculated with a strain of bacteria that causes the milk to curdle.

15 New and improved, say : TWO POINT O

2.0 (“two point O”)

16 Slim young swimmer : ELVER

An elver is a young eel.

18 Mookie who was the 2018 AL MVP : BETTS

Mookie Betts is a professional baseball outfielder from Nashville who was drafted by the Red Sox in 2011. Betts is also a professional bowler, and has competed in the PBA’s World Series of Bowling. He has bowled several perfect (300) games.

20 “Law & Order” actor Jeremy : SISTO

Actor Jeremy Sisto is perhaps best known for his supporting roles in TV shows like “Six Feet Under” (Billy Chenowith) and “Law & Order” (Det. Cyrus Lupo). He also played a lead role in the sitcom “Suburgatory” (George Altman) that ran from 2011 to 2014.

21 Catalan artist Joan : MIRO

Joan Miró was a Spanish artist. He immersed himself in Surrealism, so much so that Andre Breton, the founder of the movement, said that Miró was “the most Surrealist of us all”. There are two museums dedicated to Miró’s work. The Fundació Joan Miró is in his native Barcelona, and the Fundació Miró Mallorca is in Palma de Mallorca, where the artist spent much of his life.

Catalonia is an autonomous community in the northeast of Spain, the capital of which is the city of Barcelona. Sandwiched between Catalonia and France to the north, is the lovely Principality of Andorra that is nestled in the Pyrenees. Andorra is the country in the world in which Catalan is an official language.

22 Cry after seeing a good drawing? : GIN!

Gin rummy is a faster variant of standard rummy. It was introduced in 1909 by one Elwood Baker and his son.

23 Airport safety gp. : TSA

Transportation Security Administration (TSA)

26 “Mad __” : MEN

“Mad Men” was the flagship show on the AMC television channel for several seasons. Set in the sixties, it’s all about an advertising agency located on Madison Avenue in New York (hence the title). “Mad Men” became the first show created by a basic cable channel to win an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series.

29 Knockoffs of the 1980s and 1990s : PC CLONES

In the early days of desktop computing, an IBM clone (also “PC clone”) was a computer built by an IBM competitor that was designed to function just like an IBM, but without using any copyrighted material or trade secrets that were the intellectual property of IBM. Clones were always a competitive issue for IBM, and perhaps were part of the reason that IBM doesn’t make desktop computers today …

32 Brand that sponsored early soap operas : CAMAY

Camay is a brand of soap produced by Procter & Gamble since 1926. Camay was introduced as a “white, pure soap for women”.

36 “One L” author : TUROW

Scott Turow is an author and lawyer from Chicago. Turow has had several bestselling novels including “Presumed Innocent”, “The Burden of Proof” and “Reversible Errors”, all three of which were made into films. He also wrote the autobiographical book “One L: The Turbulent True Story of a First Year at Harvard Law School”.

38 Journalist who co-founded the NAACP : IDA B WELLS

Ida B. Wells was an African-American journalist and leader of the civil rights movement. She published a pamphlet in 1892 called “Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases”, which publicized the horrors of lynching of African Americans by white mobs in the South.

The full name of the NAACP, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, is remarkable in that it still uses the offensive term “colored people”. The NAACP was founded in 1909, by a group that included suffragette and journalist Mary White Ovington, wealthy socialist William English Walling, and civil rights activist Henry Moskowitz. Another member of the founding group was W. E. B. Du Bois, the first African-American to earn a doctorate at Harvard University. The date chosen for the founding of the NAACP was February 12th, 1909, the 100th anniversary of the birth of President Abraham Lincoln, the man most visibly associated with the emancipation of African-American slaves.

40 __ cash : PETTY

The word “petty”, meaning “small-minded”, comes from the French word for small, “petit”. When “petty” first came into English it wasn’t used disparagingly, and was used more literally giving us terms like “petty officer” and “petty cash”. The word “petty” evolved into a prefix “petti-” with the meaning of “small”, as in the word “petticoat”.

41 Beanies : KNIT CAPS

A beanie is a knitted, close-fitting hat with no brim. The name probably comes from the slang term “bean” meaning “head”.

43 Violinist Kavafian : ANI

Ani Kavafian is a Turkish-born classical violinist, as is her sister Ida Kavafian. Back in 1983, the pair performed together at Carnegie Hall.

46 City southwest of Warsaw : LODZ

The Polish city of Lodz is located about 85 southwest of Warsaw and is the third-largest city in the country. “Lodz” is a Polish word meaning “boat”, and both the city’s flag and coat of arms feature a wooden boat with an oar. Lodz’s motto is “Ex navicula navis”, which translates from Latin as “From a boat, a ship”.

48 Hitchcock motel : BATES

Bates Motel and house were constructed on the backlot of Universal Studios for the 1960 HItchcock movie “Psycho”. They are still standing, and for me are highlights of the backlot tour that is available to visitors.

56 Hereditary chain : DNA STRAND

Francis Crick and James Watson discovered that DNA had a double-helix, chain-like structure, and published their results in Cambridge in 1953. To this day the discovery is mired in controversy, as some crucial results collected by fellow researcher Rosalind Franklin were used without her permission or even knowledge. In 1962, along with molecular biologist Maurice Wilkins, Watson and Crick were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine.

58 Summer Daze cologne brand : CK ONE

CK One is a fragrance that was developed for Calvin Klein and launched in 1994. It was to become the first really successful unisex fragrance.

Back in 1709, an Italian perfume-maker moved to Cologne in Germany. There he invented a new fragrance that he named Eau de Cologne after his newly adopted town. The fragrance is still produced in Cologne, using a secret formulation. However, the terms “Eau de Cologne” and “cologne”, are now used generically.

60 Bar : ESTOP

The term “estop” means to block or stop by using some legal device. “Estop” comes from Old French, in which “estopper” means “to stop up” or “to impede”.

Down

1 H-Town ALer : ‘STRO

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.

The city of Houston (sometimes “H-Town”) was named for General Sam Houston, who served as President of the Republic of Texas and then as Governor after Texas was annexed as a US state in 1845. As the city is home to the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston was officially given the nickname “Space City” in 1967.

2 Preakness winner Man __ : O’ WAR

Man o’ War is thought by many to be the greatest thoroughbred racehorse of all time, having won 20 of 21 races in his career just after WWI.

3 Capitol cap : DOME

A capitol is a building in which a legislature meets. Such buildings are often constructed with an impressive dome. The term “capitol” is a reference to the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, the most important temple in ancient Rome, and which sat on top of Capitoline Hill.

5 Word in a Tom Swifty about Bruce Springsteen : BOSSILY

A Tom Swifty is a phrase consisting of a made-up quotation followed by a punning adverb. Such devices were common in the “Tom Swift” series of adventure novels for juveniles, hence the name. Examples would be:

• “I’ll have a martini,” said Tom, dryly.
• “Hurry up and get to the back of the ship!” Tom said sternly.
• “Careful with that chainsaw,” Tom said offhandedly.
• “I have no flowers,” Tom said lackadaisically.
• “I dropped my toothpaste,” Tom said, crestfallen.

Here’s a Tom Swifty: “Come over here”, said Bruce Springsteen, bossily. This works because Springsteen is sometimes referred to as “The Boss”.

6 Chamillionaire song with the lyrics “They see me rollin’ / They hatin'” : RIDIN’

“Chamillionaire” is the stage name of rapper Hakeem Temidayo Seriki. Outside of his career as a rap artist, Chamillionaire is a successful entrepreneur and investor.

7 “The Killing” actress Mireille : ENOS

Mireille Enos is an actress from Kansas City. She is perhaps best known for her TV work, playing Sarah Linden on “The Killing” and for playing twins Kathy and JoDean Marquart on “Big Love”. Enos is married to actor Alan Ruck, who I mainly remember playing Cameron Frye in the great movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”.

“The Killing” is an excellent crime series that aired for four seasons starting in 2011. It stars Mireille Linden as a Seattle homicide detective. The US-produced show is based on a Danish TV series titled “The Crime” in English.

8 Chem class fig. : AT WT

The atomic weight (at. wt.) of an element is the mass of one atom of the element, relative to the mass of an atom of carbon (which is assumed to have an atomic weight of 12).

10 Isr. neighbor : LEB

Lebanon lies at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. The nation has a rich cultural history, and was home to the ancient civilization of Phoenicia. The name “Lebanon” derives from the Semitic word “lbn” meaning “white”, and is probably a reference to the snow that caps the mountain range known as Mount Lebanon, which parallels the Mediterranean coast.

14 Director Welles : ORSON

Orson Welles is perhaps best-remembered in the world of film for his role in 1941’s “Citizen Kane”. In the world of radio, Welles is known for directing and narrating 1938’s famous broadcast of “The War of the Worlds”, a broadcast that convinced many listeners that the Earth was indeed being invaded by aliens.

22 Jason who was the 2000 AL MVP : GIAMBI

Jason Giambi is a retired Major League first baseman and designated hitter. In recent years, Giambi’s reputation has been tarnished as he admitted to the FBI in 2003 that he injected himself with human growth hormone. Giambi has since apologized to the public for the wrongdoing.

25 NYC rep since 2019 : AOC

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a politician who is often referred to by her initials “AOC”. A Democrat, she was first elected to the US House of Representatives in 2018, representing part of the Bronx, Queens and Rikers Island in New York City. When she took office in 2019 at the age of 29, AOC became the youngest woman ever to serve in Congress.

29 Singer who was one of the original judges on “American Idol” : PAULA ABDUL

Paula Abdul is primarily a singer and dancer, and someone who endeared herself even more to the American public in recent years as a judge on “American Idol”. Abdul had a famous husband for a couple of years, as she was married to actor Emilio Estevez from 1992-94.

30 Post-doc combo? : CTRL+P

Ctrl+P is a Windows keyboard shortcut for the command PRINT.

32 Sci-fi FX : CGI

Computer-generated imagery (CGI)

39 Org. founded by Billie Jean King : WTA

Billie Jean King is a retired professional tennis player and former world No. 1. She won more Wimbledon titles (20, across singles, doubles and mixed doubles) than any other player in history. In addition to her success on the court, King was a pioneer for gender equality in sports. In 1973, she defeated Bobby Riggs in the celebrated “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match, which helped to raise awareness of the issue of equal pay for women athletes. King also founded the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and served as its first president.

43 “… a grin without a cat” observer : ALICE

The Cheshire Cat is a character in Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”. The Cheshire Cat has an expansive grin, and at one point magically disappears in front of Alice, leaving just the grin visible.

Well! I’ve often seen a cat without a grin,’ thought Alice; `but a grin without a cat! It’s the most curious thing I ever saw in my life!

45 Italy’s Villa __ : D’ESTE

The Villa d’Este is a beautiful Renaissance villa situated close to Tivoli near Rome, Italy. It was built by Cardinal Ippolito d’Este, the son of Alfonso I d’Este and Lucrezia Borgia.

47 Philosopher known for “reductio ad absurdum” arguments : ZENO

The Latin phrase “reductio ad absurdum” (reduction to absurdity) describes a form of argument supporting a claim by showing that the opposite scenario would lead to an absurd or contradictory result. An example would be, assuming that the Earth is finite in size, it can’t be flat, or some people would fall off the edge.

Zeno of Elea was a Greek philosopher who lived in Elea, a Greek colony in Southern Italy. Zeno is famous for his paradoxes, a set of problems that really make you think! In the problem known as “Achilles and the Tortoise”, Zeno tells us that Achilles races a tortoise, giving the tortoise a head start (of say 100 meters). By the time Achilles reaches the starting point of the tortoise, the tortoise will have moved on, albeit only a small distance. Achilles then sets his sights on the tortoise’s new position and runs to it. Again the tortoise has moved ahead a little. Achilles keeps on moving to the tortoise’s new position but can never actually catch his slower rival. Or can he …?

52 Santa __ Valley: California setting of “Sideways” : YNEZ

The Santa Ynez Valley is a winegrowing region in Santa Barbara County in California. The Santa Ynez Valley was the setting and location for the wonderful 2004 film “Sideways”.

“Sideways” is a marvelous 2004 film that is an adaptation of a 2004 novel of the same name. In fact, “Sideways” is the first in a trilogy of comedic wine-themed novels by Rex Pickett, and was followed by “Vertical” (2010) and “Sideways 3 Chile” (2015). The “Sideways” movie stars Paul Giamatti as a depressed teacher and writer accompanying his friend on a trip through wine country prior to that friend’s upcoming wedding. Great stuff …

57 Prescription to fight stress, briefly : R’N’R

Rest and relaxation/recuperation/recreation (R&R, R‘n’R)