LA Times Crossword 9 Feb 23, Thursday - LAXCrossword.com (2023)

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Salinger title girl who says, “I prefer stories about squalor” : ESME

J. D. Salinger wrote a short story called “For Esmé – with Love and Squalor” that was originally published in “The New Yorker” in 1950. It is a story about a young English girl called Esme and an American soldier, and is set in WWII.

9 Las Vegas WNBA team : ACES

The Las Vegas Aces women’s basketball team was formed in Salt Lake City in 1997 as the Utah Starzz. The team became the San Antonio (Silver) Stars in 2002, before moving to Las Vegas as the Aces in 2018.

14 French endearment that means “cabbage” : CHOU

“Mon petit chou” is a term of endearment in French meaning “sweetheart, darling”, but translating literally as “my little cabbage”.

15 Pound the pavement? : STOMP

Back in Ireland, the “pavement” is what we call the “sidewalk, footpath” (because the footpath is “paved”, often with “paving” stones!). It’s very confusing when you arrive in this country from Ireland, and a little dangerous when one has been taught from a young age to “walk on the pavement” …

19 __ Pueblo, New Mexico : TAOS

The town of Taos, New Mexico is named for the Native American village nearby called Taos Pueblo. Taos is famous for its art colony. Artists began settling in Taos in 1899, and the Taos Society of Artists was founded in 1915.

20 PowerPoint unit : SLIDE

Given that PowerPoint is a Microsoft product, it is perhaps a bit of a paradox that the original application that became PowerPoint was designed for the Macintosh computer. This first release was called “Presenter”. The company that designed Presenter was purchased by Microsoft in 1987.

21 Brewpub fave : IPA

India pale ale (IPA) is a style of beer that originated in England. The beer was originally intended for transportation from England to India, hence the name.

28 Dice game : CRAPS

If one considers earlier versions of craps, then the game has been around for a very long time and probably dates back to the Crusades. It may have been derived from an old English game called “hazard” also played with two dice, which was mentioned in Geoffrey Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales” from the 1300s. The American version of the game came here courtesy of the French and first set root in New Orleans where it was given the name “crapaud”, a French word meaning “toad”.

29 Tech journalist Swisher : KARA

Kara Swisher is a much-respected technology and business journalist known for covering topics related to Silicon Valley. Swisher was married for about a decade to former Chief Technology Officer of the United States Megan Smith.

30 Vegetable in aloo matar : PEA

Aloo mutter (also “all matar”) is a very delicious dish from Indian cuisine comprising potatoes and peas in a spicy, creamy, tomato-based sauce. The dish’s name translates as “potatoes and peas”.

33 *Camera attachment for a panorama : WIDE-ANGLE LENS

Panoramic paintings have existed for centuries, but the word “panorama” was coined around 1790 to describe an invention by the artist Robert Barker. He created an apparatus for exhibiting pictures on the inside of a cylindrical surface, allowing the viewer to stand in the middle with access to a 360-degree vista. The term comes from Greek “pan-” meaning “all” and “horama” meaning “sight, spectacle”.

38 Acne treatment brand : OXY

OXY 10 is a brand name for a medication with the active ingredient benzoyl peroxide. Benzoyl peroxide is used as an acne treatment as well as for dyeing hair, for whitening teeth and in the preparation of flour.

40 Indie rock’s __ Kiley : RILO

Indie rock band Rilo Kiley formed 1998 in Los Angeles, and broke up in 2013. Lead guitarist Blake Sennett suggested the band’s name after he had a steam in which he was being chased by a sports almanac. In the dream, he found an Australian rules football player listed with the name Rilo Kiley.

42 Passport mark : STAMP

A visa is usually a stamp in one’s passport, an indication that one is authorized to enter (and less often, to exit) a particular country. The word “visa” comes into English, via French, from the Latin expression “charta visa” meaning “paper that has been seen”, or “verified paper”.

47 *Convertible piece : HIDEAWAY BED

A hideaway bed is one that “hides away” when not in use as a bed. It converts to another piece of furniture, often a shelf or a desk.

53 Wild parties : RAVES

As you might imagine, I’ve never been to a rave, and don’t have one upcoming in my diary. As raves often start at 2 a.m., I’m unlikely ever to experience one. A rave is generally an all-night party featuring loud, electronically-synthesized music usually played by a DJ, as opposed to a live band.

54 “__ You Babe” : I GOT

“I Got You Babe” is a duet that was released in 1965 by Sonny & Cher. The lyrics and music for the song were written by Sonny Bono himself. In 1993, Sonny and Cher did a version of the song with the animated characters Beavis and Butt-head. One has to ask, “Why …?”

60 “Hamilton” Tony winner Renée __ Goldsberry : ELISE

Renée Elise Goldsberry is an actress and singer who is best known to me for playing the attorney Geneva Pine on the TV show “The Good Wife”. Goldsberry also originated the role of Angelica Schuyler Church in the hit Broadway musical “Hamilton”.

63 Cambodian currency : RIEL

The Cambodian riel was introduced in 1953, and was taken out of circulation by the Khmer Rouge in 1975 when they completely abolished money on taking control of the country. After the Vietnamese invasion of 1978, money was reintroduced and the Cambodian people are still using the “second” riel. The original riel was divided into 100 centimes, but this was changed to 100 “sen” in 1959.

64 Picks up a Bug, say : TOWS

“VW” stands for “Volkswagen”, which translates from German into “people’s car”. The original Volkswagen design was the Beetle and was built under a directive from Adolf Hitler, who wanted a cheap car built that ordinary people could afford to purchase. Hitler awarded the contract to engineer Ferdinand Porsche, whose name (paradoxically) would forever be associated with high performance, expensive cars. The Beetle was the official name of the VW model released in North America, but it was usually referred to as a “Bug” here in the US, and a “Beetle” elsewhere in the world.

Down

2 Lefty : SOUTHPAW

A southpaw is someone who is left-handed. The term “southpaw” arose as baseball slang in the mid-1880s to describe a left-handed pitcher. Back then, baseball diamonds were often laid out with home plate to the west. So, a pitcher’s left hand would be on his “south” side as he faced the batter.

3 Spy played by Greta Garbo : MATA HARI

“Mata Hari” was the stage name used by Margaretha Geertruida Zelle, born in the Netherlands in 1876. After an unsuccessful and somewhat tragic marriage, Zella moved to Paris in 1903 where she struggled to make a living. By 1905 she was working as an exotic dancer and using the name Mata Hari. She was a successful courtesan, notably moving in various circles of high-ranking military officers. She apparently worked as a double agent, both for the French and the Germans. When Mata Hari was accused by the French of passing information to the enemy, she was tried, found guilty and executed by firing squad at the height of WW1, in 1917.

“Mata Hari” is a 1931 film starring Greta Garbo in the title role. “Mata Hari” was a huge hit for MGM, and for Garbo. It is usually given the credit for popularizing the legendary stories surrounding the exotic dancer and WWI spy.

Famously, Greta Garbo lived a life of seclusion in New York City after she retired from the entertainment business. Commentators often associated her need for privacy with a line she uttered in the great 1932 movie “Grand Hotel”. Her character Grusinskaya the Russian ballerina said, “I want to be alone (…) I just want to be alone”.

4 Big petrol seller : ESSO

The Esso brand has its roots in the old Standard Oil company as it uses the initial letters of “Standard” and “Oil” (ESS-O). The Esso brand was replaced by Exxon in the US, but ESSO is still used in many other countries.

5 Med. condition that may be treated with Paxil : OCD

Apparently, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is the fourth most commonly diagnosed mental disorder, making it about as prevalent as asthma.

The most commonly prescribed antidepressants in the US (in 2010 anyway) are:

• Zoloft (sertraline)
• Celexa (citalopram)
• Prozac (fluoxetine)
• Lexapro (escitalopram)
• Desyrel (trazodone)
• Cymbalta (duloxetine)
• Paxil (paroxetine)

6 Alter ego of “Batman” villain Lorelei Circe : THE SIREN

On the TV show “Batman”, the villainess known as the Siren was played by actress Joan Collins.

7 Explorer Amundsen : ROALD

Roald Amundsen was an explorer of the polar regions from Norway. Most notably perhaps, he was the leader of the first team to reach the South Pole, doing so in 1911. Amundsen was also one of the first humans to reach the North Pole. He did this in an airship in 1926 with a team of fifteen. Amundsen disappeared while participating in the attempted rescue of the crew of another airship exploring the North Pole. His remains were never recovered.

8 Saul Bellow’s “The Adventures of __ March” : AUGIE

“The Adventures of Augie March” is a novel by Saul Bellow published first in 1953. The story tells of a young man growing up during the Great Depression.

10 Crumbly Mexican cheese : COTIJA

Cotija is a salty and milky cheese named for the Mexican town of Cotija from where it originated.

15 Lettering guide : STENCIL

A stencil is a sheet of impervious material with perforations in the shape of letters or a design. The stencil is placed over a surface to be printed and then the printing medium is applied, so that the medium only attaches to the surface beneath the perforations.

17 Web access cos. : ISPS

An Internet service provider (ISP) is just what the name indicates, a company that provides its customers with access to the Internet. One way that ISPs differentiate themselves from each other is in the way in which end users are connected to the ISP’s network. So, there are cable ISPs, DSL ISPs, dial-up ISPs and satellite ISPs.

18 Wyo. neighbor : IDA

Idaho borders six states, and one Canadian province:

• Montana
• Wyoming
• Nevada
• Utah
• Washington
• Oregon
• British Columbia

27 Semicircular antenna housing : RADOME

A radome is a weatherproof enclosure surrounding a microwave antenna. Such an enclosure is constructed from materials that do not interfere with electromagnetic signals. “Radome” is a portmanteau of “radar” and “dome”.

32 Author who wrote on Friday? : DEFOE

Daniel Defoe is most famous today as the author of the novels “Robinson Crusoe” and “Moll Flanders”. He was also a trader … and a spy for King William III!

In Daniel Defoe’s 1719 novel “Robinson Crusoe”, the castaway encounters a companion that Crusoe calls “Friday”, because the two first met on that day. Friday soon becomes his willing servant. This character is the source of our terms “Man/Guy Friday” and “Girl/Gal Friday”, which are used to describe a particularly competent and loyal assistant.

34 One-sided, in legal proceedings : EX PARTE

“Ex parte” is a Latin term used in the law that can be translated as “for one party”. A basic rule of US law is that both parties must be present to witness arguments made before a judge. An “ex parte” decision by a judge benefits just one party, and may be made without the other party being present.

35 Meaty Moroccan dish : LAMB STEW

The country of Morocco is located in North Africa, but lies just 9 miles south of Spain. Spain and Morocco, and hence Europe and Africa, are separated by those 9 miles across the Mediterranean Sea known as the Straits of Gibraltar.

36 Much of the atmosphere : NITROGEN

The chemical element nitrogen (atomic number 7) was first isolated and discovered by Scottish physician and chemist Daniel Rutherford in 1772. Rutherford did not identify nitrogen as an element, but isolated it as a gaseous component of air that did not support combustion, and that he called “noxious air”.

Air is mainly composed of nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%) and argon (1%). We hear a lot about carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It makes up (or should make up!) about 0.04%, but that’s an important 0.04%.

37 Did some digging : SLEUTHED

The word “sleuth” came into English from Old Norse as far back as 1200 when it meant the “track or trail of a person”. In the mid-1800s, a sleuthhound described a keen investigator, a hound close on the trail of the suspect. Sleuthhound was shortened to “sleuth” and was used for a detective in general.

41 Toronto’s prov. : ONT

Beautiful Toronto, Ontario is the largest city in Canada, and the fourth most populous city in North America (after Mexico City, New York and Los Angeles).

43 Copenhagen’s __ Gardens : TIVOLI

The Tivoli Gardens is a long-established amusement park in Copenhagen that opened for business in 1843. That makes it the second oldest amusement park on the planet. The Danes must like to be amused, as the oldest park is Dyrehavsbakken, also in Denmark.

Copenhagen is the largest city and the capital of Denmark. I haven’t had the privilege of visiting Copenhagen, but I hear it is a wonderful metropolis with a marvelous quality of life. The city is also very environmentally friendly, with over a third of its population commuting to work by bicycle.

44 Antarctic penguin : ADELIE

The Adélie penguin is found along the Antarctic coast, and is named after the Antarctic territory called Adélie Land that is claimed by France. Adélie Land was discovered by French explorer Jules Dumont D’Urville in 1840, and he named the territory after his wife Adéle.

46 Prefix with -pathic : IDIO-

Something described as idiopathic arises spontaneously, or is caused by something unknown. The term is usually applied to a medical condition.

49 Nautical “Halt!” : AVAST!

“Avast” is a nautical term used to tell someone to stop or desist from what they are doing. The word comes from the Dutch “hou vast” meaning “hold fast”.

50 BTS hit “__ Come” : YET TO

“Yet to Come (The Most Beautiful Moment)” is a 2022 song released by the South Korean boy band BTS. The original song was recorded in Korean, but there is an English-language version that was commissioned by South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai as part of a marketing campaign for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

BTS is a boy band from South Korea with seven members. The initialism “BTS” stands for the phrase “Bangtan Sonyeondan”, which translates literally as “Bulletproof Boy Scouts”. BTS is the best-selling musical act in the history of South Korea.

55 Ashram adviser : GURU

“Guru” is a Hindi word meaning “teacher” or “priest”.

“Ashram” is a term used in the Hindu tradition to describe a place of spiritual retreat, one that is typically located in a remote location conducive to spiritual instruction and meditation.

57 Broadband letters : DSL

The initialism “DSL” originally stood for Digital Subscriber Loop, but is now accepted to mean (Asymmetric) Digital Subscriber Line. It is a technology that allows Internet service to be delivered down the same telephone line as voice service, by separating the two into different frequency signals.

In Internet terms, the word “broadband” is used to describe Internet access that is faster than dialup. In more broad (pun!) telecommunication terms, “broadband” is used to describe “bandwidth” data transmission that is “broad” enough to carry several signals and several different types of traffic at the same time.

58 Some PCs : HPS

The giant multinational HP (originally “Hewlett-Packard”) was founded in 1939 with an investment of $538 in a one-car garage in Palo Alto, California by Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard. The company name would have been Packard-Hewlett, if Dave Packard had won a coin toss!

59 Ref’s ruling : TKO

Technical knockout (TKO)