LA Times Crossword 2 Jan 19, Wednesday

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Constructed by: Robin Stears
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Reveal Answer: Fish Heads

Themed answers each comprise two words, each of which can precede (HEAD) the word FISH:

  • 65A. 1978 novelty song with the line “Eat them up! Yum!” … and what both parts of the answers to starred clues can be : FISH HEADS
  • 17A. *Jewelry alloy : WHITE GOLD (whitefish & goldfish)
  • 25A. *Genre that may be featured in the Eurovision Song Contest : SWEDISH ROCK (Swedish fish & rockfish)
  • 38A. *Sleight-of-hand scam : SHELL GAME (shellfish & game fish)
  • 53A. *Food brand whose products include Caribbean curry paste and Jamaican jerk seasoning : TROPICAL SUN (tropical fish & sunfish)

Bill’s time: 6m 44s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1. Fictional archaeologist Croft : LARA

Lara Croft was introduced to the world in 1996 as the main character in a pretty cool video game (or so I thought, back then) called “Tomb Raider”. Lara Croft moved to the big screen in 2001 and 2003, in two pretty awful movie adaptations of the game’s storyline. Angelina Jolie played Croft, and she did a very energetic job.

9. Furry critters who helped disable the shield generator on Endor : EWOKS

The Ewoks are creatures who live on the moon of Endor in the “Star Wars” universe. First appearing in “Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi”, they’re the cute and cuddly little guys that look like teddy bears.

14. Major work : OPUS

The Latin for “work” is “opus”, with the plural being “opera”. We sometimes also use the plural “opuses” in English.

15. La Scala song : ARIA

La Scala Opera House opened in 1778. It was built on the site of the church of Santa Maria della Scala, which gave the theater its Italian name “Teatro alla Scala”.

16. “Mack the Knife” singer : DARIN

The singer Bobby Darin had a short but eventful life. Darin started in show business as a songwriter for Connie Francis. He then made it big as a performer with huge hits like “Splish Splash”, “Dream Lover”, “Mack the Knife” and “Beyond the Sea”. He was active politically as a supporter of Robert Kennedy, and was present in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles when Kennedy was assassinated. Soon after, Darin found out that the people he thought were his parents, were in fact his grandparents. The woman he knew as his older sister was in fact his mother. Darin died following a heart operation at only 37 years old.

“Die Moritat von Mackie Messer” is the original name of the song “Mack the Knife”, which comes from “The Threepenny Opera”. “The Threepenny Opera” (“Die Dreigroschenoper”) is a musical written by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill that first performed in Berlin in 1928, an adaptation of “The Beggar’s Opera” written by Englishman John Gay in the 18th century. “Mack the Knife” was introduced into the popular music repertoire by Louis Armstrong. He had a hit with it in 1956, but it was the Bobby Darin recording of 1959 that came to be known as the definitive, English-language version of the song. I love it …

17. *Jewelry alloy : WHITE GOLD (whitefish & goldfish)

White gold is an alloy, made from gold and a white metal. Typically, that white metal is nickel, manganese or palladium.

Carp are freshwater fish that are used as food around the world, although they aren’t very popular in North American kitchens. The ornamental fish that we know as goldfish and koi are all types of carp.

21. Plumeria garlands : LEIS

“Lei” is the Hawaiian word for “garland, wreath”, although in more general terms a lei is any series of objects strung together as an adornment for the body.

The genus of plants Plumeria has the common name “Frangipani”. The genus is named after French botanist Charles Plumier. The common name comes from an Italian noble family with roots in Ancient Rome.

23. CIA relative : NSA

National Security Agency (NSA)

25. *Genre that may be featured in the Eurovision Song Contest : SWEDISH ROCK (Swedish fish & rockfish)

We have a big event across Europe every year called the Eurovision Song Contest. Each nation enters one song in competition with each other, and then voters across the whole continent decide on the winner. That’s how ABBA got their big break when they won in 1974 with “Waterloo”. In 1973, Spain’s entry was “Eres tú” (the Spanish for “You Are”) sung by the band Mocedades. “Eres tú” came second in the competition, but should have won in my humble opinion.

Swedish Fish are wine gums shaped like fish that were introduced in the late fifties by Malaco, a Swedish candy company. Decades later, Swedish Fish are still around. There’s even a Swedish Fish flavor of Trident chewing gum, and a limited-edition Swedish Fish Oreo cookie.

“Rockfish” is a name commonly given to various species of fish that tend to hide among rocks.

29. Serenade : SING TO

A serenade is a musical performance in the open air, specifically at night. We tend to think of the term applying to a young man serenading his lover from below her window. We imported the word via French from the Italian “serenata” meaning “evening song”, influenced by the Italian “sera” meaning “evening”.

31. “Good comeback” : TOUCHE

“Touché” is a term from fencing, acknowledging a successful “touch” in a duel. The term has been extended to mean that a successful criticism or riposte has hit home in a conversation.

32. Palm starch : SAGO

When I was growing up in Ireland I was very familiar with pearl sago, which is very similar to pearl tapioca. Pearls of sago are simply little balls of sago starch used to make breads, pancakes, biscuits, or the steamed puddings that we ate as kids. Sago comes from pith of the sago palm tree. To get at the starch the tree has to be cut down and the trunk split to reveal the pith. The pith is crushed and manipulated to make the starch available, which is then washed out of a fibrous suspension. One sago palm tree yields about 150-300 kg of starch. Personally I love the stuff, but then, I am a bit weird …

33. Julia Louis-Dreyfus comedy : VEEP

“Veep” is a political satire sitcom on HBO that is a remake of the British show “The Thick of It” (Warning: strong language!). “Veep” is set in the office of a fictional Vice President of the United States played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Actress and comedian Julia Louis-Dreyfus is an alum of the sketch show “Saturday Night Live”, in which she appeared from 1982 to 1985. Her really big break came when she was chosen to play Elaine Benes on “Seinfeld”. More recently, Louis-Dreyfus can be seen playing Vice President Selina Meyer on the HBO comedy show “Veep”.

37. London insurance pioneer : LLOYD

Lloyd’s of London isn’t actually an insurance company, but rather is a market where members can get together to spread the risk associated with policies that have been underwritten.

38. *Sleight-of-hand scam : SHELL GAME (shellfish & game fish)

A shell game is a gambling game, at least at first sight. However, it is usually a confidence trick. Typically, a small ball is placed under three face-down containers on a flat surface. The containers are shuffled around, and a player wins if he or she can “follow the ball” and correctly guess which container has that ball. In an illegal street game say, the operator will often use sleight of hand to fool the players.

There is a traditional warning that one shouldn’t eat shellfish in a month without an R i.e. May through August. That’s because these are the warmer months here in the northern hemisphere when algae blooms can spread toxins that are soaked up by clams, mussels and oysters. Personally, I only eat shellfish in months containing a Q … that would be never …

Game fish are fish that are pursued for sport.

41. Dispatch boat : AVISO

A dispatch boat is a military vessel designed to carry dispatches to and from ships. In the French navy, a dispatch boat is called an aviso. Nowadays of course, the need for dispatch boats has disappeared, but avisos still exist and are a class of combat vessel usually used in the defense of a coast against encroachment by enemies.

45. Former Virginia senator Charles : ROBB

Chuck Robb is a former Governor of Virginia and former US Senator. Robb is married to Lynda Bird Johnson Robb, the daughter of former President Lyndon B. Johnson. The couple were married in the White House in December 1967.

49. Sesame paste : TAHINI

“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.

51. Daffy, for one : LISPER

Daffy Duck first appeared on the screen in “Porky’s Duck Hunt” in 1937. In the original cartoon, Daffy was just meant to have a small role, but he was a big hit as he had so much sass. Even back then, Daffy’s “lispy” voice was provided by the ubiquitous Mel Blanc.

53. *Food brand whose products include Caribbean curry paste and Jamaican jerk seasoning : TROPICAL SUN (tropical fish & sunfish)

Jerk chicken is a Jamaican dish in which the meat is prepared with a hot spice mixture that is used as a marinade or a dry rub. There is a suggestion that the term “jerk” comes from the Quechuan word “ch’arki” meaning “dried, salted meat”. The same Quechuan word is the root of our term “jerky” meaning “lean, dried meat”.

57. Lyft approx. : ETA

Lyft is a ridesharing service that is based in San Francisco, as is Uber, Lyft’s biggest competitor.

58. Strike caller : UMP

Back in the 15th century, “an umpire” was referred to as “a noumpere”, which was misheard and hence causing the dropping of the initial letter N. The term “noumpere” came from Old French “nonper” meaning “not even, odd number”. The idea was that the original umpire was a third person called on to arbitrate between two, providing that “odd number” needed to decide the dispute.

59. H.G. Wells race : ELOI

In the 1895 novel by H. G. Wells called “The Time Machine”, there are two races that the hero encounter in his travels into the future. The Eloi are the “beautiful people” who live on the planet’s surface. The Morlocks are a domineering race living underground who use the Eloi as food.

60. Actor Pratt or Pine : CHRIS

Chris Pratt is an actor who really got his big break playing the rather dopey Andy Dwyer on the sitcom “Parks and Recreation”. Pratt then played a pretty macho role as a SEAL team operator in “Zero Dark Thirty”, before taking leading heroic roles in “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Jurassic World”. Pratt was married from 2009 until 2018 to Anna Faris, the comedic actress who plays Christy Plunkett on the sitcom “Mom”.

Actor Chris Pine played a very young Captain James T. Kirk in the 2009 “Star Trek” film. Pine was also the fourth actor to play the role of Jack Ryan in the film series from the Tom Clancy novels (after Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck).

68. “Dies __” : IRAE

“Dies Irae” is Latin for “Day of Wrath”. It is the name of a famous melody in Gregorian Chant, one that is often used as part of the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass.

70. Baby carrier? : STORK

In German and Dutch society, storks resting on the roof of a house were considered a sign of good luck. This tradition led to nursery stories that babies were brought to families by storks.

72. Gerritsen who created Rizzoli and Isles : TESS

“Rizzoli & Isles” is a detective drama that is inspired by the “Maura Isles/Jane Rizzoli” series of novels by Tess Gerritsen. In the show, Angie Harmon plays detective Jane Rizzoli and Sasha Alexander plays medical examiner Dr. Maura Isles.

Down

1. Catholic service with minimal ceremony : LOW MASS

In the Roman Catholic tradition, a High Mass is more elaborate than a Low Mass. The former is usually a sung Mass and may involve more than one celebrant.

2. Loss of speech : APHASIA

Someone with aphasia has dysfunction in specific regions of the brain that result in an inability to use words as symbols of ideas. The most common causes of aphasia are strokes or head trauma.

4. Bubbly city : ASTI

Asti is a city in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy. The region is perhaps most famous for its Asti Spumante sparkling white wine.

6. Orwellian worker : PROLE

George Orwell introduced us to the proles, the working class folk in his famous novel “Nineteen Eighty-Four”. Collectively, the proles make up the section of society known as the proletariat.

9. College URL ending : EDU

An Internet address (like NYTCrossword.com and LAXCrossword.com) is more correctly called a Uniform Resource Locators (URL).

11. Venezuelan river : ORINOCO

The Orinoco is a major river in South America that flows through Venezuela and Colombia.

12. Tacky : KITSCHY

“Kitschy” is a German word, and is an adjective that means “gaudy, trash”.

Something tacky is in bad taste. The term “tacky” derives from the noun “tackey” that was used in the early 1800s to describe a neglected horse.

18. NCAA’s Big __ : EAST

The Big East collegiate athletic conference was founded in 1979. The conference went through a major realignment between 2010 and 2013 with 14 schools departing, and 15 schools joining the lineup.

22. Mach 1 flier : SST

Supersonic transports (SSTs) like the Concorde broke Mach 1, the speed of sound. As a plane flies through air, it creates pressure waves in front (and behind) rather like the bow and stern waves of a boat. These pressure waves travel at the speed of sound, so as an aircraft itself accelerates towards the speed of sound it catches up with the pressure waves until they cannot “get out of the way”. When the aircraft reaches the speed of sound, the compressed waves merge into one single shock wave, creating a sonic boom.

27. Ian who plays Bilbo Baggins : HOLM

English actor Sir Ian Holm is very respected on the stage in the UK, but is better known for his film roles here in the US. Holm played the hobbit Bilbo Baggins in two of the “Lord of the Rings” movies, and he also played the character who turns out be an android in the film “Alien”.

In J. R. R. Tolkien’s fantasy novel “The Hobbit”, the title character is Bilbo Baggins. He is a hobbit who stumbles across a magical ring and then embarks on a series of adventures.

30. Scuttlebutt : GOSSIP

Just as modern day office workers gather around the water cooler to gossip, on board a ship back in the early 1800s the sailors would gather around the water barrel on the deck to shoot the breeze. That water barrel was called a “scuttlebutt”, from “scuttle” (opening in a ship’s deck) and “butt” (barrel). Quite interesting …

34. Nutmeg State Ivy Leaguer : ELI

Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut was founded in 1701, making it the third-oldest university in the US. Originally called the Collegiate School, it was renamed to Yale University in honor of retired merchant Elihu Yale, who made generous contributions to the institution. Yale University’s nickname is “Old Eli”, in a nod to the benefactor.

Connecticut’s official nickname is the Constitution State, but can also be referred to as the Nutmeg State, the Provisions State, and the Land of Steady Habits.

36. Vardon Trophy org. : PGA

The Vardon Trophy is awarded annually to the player who has the lowest scoring average on the PGA Tour. The trophy is named for professional golfer Harry Vardon, winner of six Open Championships (from 1896 to 1914), a record that stands to this day.

39. Hägar the Horrible’s daughter : HONI

“Hägar the Horrible” is a comic strip that was created by the late Dik Browne and is now drawn by his son, Chris Browne. “Hägar the Terrible” (not “Horrible”) was the nickname given to Dik by his sons. The strip’s title character is a red-bearded Viking living on the Norwegian coast during the Middle Ages. Hägar lives with his overbearing wife Helga, his sensitive son Hamlet, his pretty daughter Honi, and his clever dog Snert.

40. Civil rights gp. : ACLU

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has its roots in the First World War when it was founded to provide legal advice and support to conscientious objectors. The ACLU’s motto is “Because Freedom Can’t Protect Itself”. The ACLU also hosts a blog on the ACLU.org website called “Speak Freely”.

42. Critter, in dialect : VARMINT

“Varmint” is an informal variant of “vermin”, a term describing something or someone that is undesirable or obnoxious.

47. Happens to, quaintly : BETIDES

“Betide” is an old word for “happen, happen to”. Most often today we hear it in the phrase “woe betide (someone)”, which means “bad things will happen to (someone)”.

48. Copper-zinc alloys : BRASSES

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. Compare this with bronze, an alloy of copper and tin. Brass and bronze are often mistaken for each other.

54. 2004 Jude Law title role : ALFIE

There have been two versions of the movie “Alfie”. The original, and for my money the best, was made in 1966 with Michael Caine. The remake came out in 2004 and stars Jude Law in the title role. The theme song was performed by Cher in the 1966 movie, but it was Dionne Warwick’s cover version from 1967 that was the most successful in the charts.

Jude Law is a wonderful English actor, and a big name in Hollywood these days. He makes a great romantic lead, witness his performance in “The Holiday” released in 2006, in which he starred opposite Cameron Diaz. He and Diaz were nominated by MTV for the best on-screen kiss that year!

55. Orléans’ river : LOIRE

The Loire is the longest river in France. It is so long that it drains one-fifth of the nation’s land mass. The Loire rises in the southeast, in the Cevennes mountain range, then heads north then due west, emptying into the Bay of Biscay at the city of Nantes. The Loire Valley is home to some of France’s most famous wine production, and includes the wine regions of Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé and Muscadet.

Orléans is a city in France that is located less than 100 miles southwest of Paris. The French city gives its name to the American city of New Orleans.

56. Rope fiber : SISAL

The sisal plant is an agave, and as far as I can tell, its flesh is not used in making tequila. Sisal is grown instead for the fibers that run the length of its leaves. The fiber is used extensively for twine, rope, carpeting, wall coverings etc. My favorite application though, is in the construction of dartboards. Sisal takes its name from the port of Sisal in Yucatan, Mexico that was a major shipping point for sisal plants.

61. __ index : HEAT

The heat index combines air temperature and relative humidity, and is an attempt to measure the relative temperature that is actually perceived by a person. The idea is that temperatures are perceived by us as being higher if accompanied by high humidity. This is because when humidity is high the body finds it more difficult to cool itself by perspiring.

66. “__ Just Not That Into You”: 2009 film : HE’S

“He’s Just Not That Into You” is a line of dialog from the HBO television series “Sex and the City”. The line was lifted and used as the title of a self-help book published in 2004. The book was adapted into a 2009 romantic comedy film with an ensemble cast that includes Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore and Scarlett Johansson. Haven’t seen it …

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. Fictional archaeologist Croft : LARA
5. Prep for fight night : SPAR
9. Furry critter who helped disable the shield generators on Endor : EWOKS
14. Major work : OPUS
15. La Scala song : ARIA
16. “Mack the Knife” singer : DARIN
17. *Jewelry alloy : WHITE GOLD (whitefish & goldfish)
19. Pull together : UNITE
20. Frenzy : MANIA
21. Plumeria garlands : LEIS
23. CIA relative : NSA
24. “__ recall … ” : AS I
25. *Genre that may be featured in the Eurovision Song Contest : SWEDISH ROCK (Swedish fish & rockfish)
29. Serenade : SING TO
31. “Good comeback” : TOUCHE
32. Palm starch : SAGO
33. Julia Louis-Dreyfus comedy : VEEP
37. London insurance pioneer : LLOYD
38. *Sleight-of-hand scam : SHELL GAME (shellfish & game fish)
41. Dispatch boat : AVISO
44. Apple desktop : IMAC
45. Former Virginia senator Charles : ROBB
49. Sesame paste : TAHINI
51. Daffy, for one : LISPER
53. *Food brand whose products include Caribbean curry paste and Jamaican jerk seasoning : TROPICAL SUN (tropical fish & sunfish)
57. Lyft approx. : ETA
58. Strike caller : UMP
59. H.G. Wells race : ELOI
60. Actor Pratt or Pine : CHRIS
62. Flower girl, perhaps : NIECE
65. 1978 novelty song with the line “Eat them up! Yum!” … and what both parts of the answers to starred clues can be : FISH HEADS
67. Come next : ENSUE
68. “Dies __” : IRAE
69. Exactly, with “to” : A TEE
70. Baby carrier? : STORK
71. Sleek swimmers : EELS
72. Gerritsen who created Rizzoli and Isles : TESS

Down

1. Catholic service with minimal ceremony : LOW MASS
2. Loss of speech : APHASIA
3. Making a mess of : RUINING
4. Bubbly city : ASTI
5. Mattress problem : SAG
6. Orwellian worker : PROLE
7. Didn’t feel well : AILED
8. Diameter halves : RADII
9. College URL ending : EDU
10. Pallid : WAN
11. Venezuelan river : ORINOCO
12. Tacky : KITSCHY
13. Moved furtively : SNEAKED
18. NCAA’s Big __ : EAST
22. Mach 1 flier : SST
26. Made on a loom : WOVE
27. Ian who plays Bilbo Baggins : HOLM
28. Things used for good measure? : RULERS
30. Scuttlebutt : GOSSIP
34. Nutmeg State Ivy Leaguer : ELI
35. Shade tree : ELM
36. Vardon Trophy org. : PGA
39. Hägar the Horrible’s daughter : HONI
40. Civil rights gp. : ACLU
41. Brings into harmony : ATTUNES
42. Critter, in dialect : VARMINT
43. “Fingers crossed!” : I HOPE SO!
46. Perform surgery : OPERATE
47. Happens to, quaintly : BETIDES
48. Copper-zinc alloys : BRASSES
50. Party host’s bagful : ICE
52. Snowfall measure : INCH
54. 2004 Jude Law title role : ALFIE
55. Orléans’ river : LOIRE
56. Rope fiber : SISAL
61. __ index : HEAT
63. Mongrel : CUR
64. Startled cry : EEK!
66. “__ Just Not That Into You”: 2009 film : HE’S

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