LA Times Crossword 10 Aug 24, Saturday - LAXCrossword.com (2024)

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5 Guardians, on scoreboards : CLE

The Cleveland baseball franchise started out in 1869 as the Forest Citys, named after Forest City, the nickname for Cleveland. After a number of transitions, in 1914 the team took on the name “Indians”. The media came up with the name “Indians” after being asked for suggestions by the team owners. “Indians” was inspired by the successful Boston team of the day, the Boston Braves. In 2021, the team dropped the insensitive “Indians” moniker and renamed itself to the Guardians. The “Guardians” name is a reference to four pairs of Art Deco statues on the city’s Hope Memorial Bridge known as the Guardians of Traffic.

18 __ four : PETIT

A petit four is a small confection served at the end of a meal, either as a dessert or with coffee. The name “petit four” is French for “small oven”.

28 Early Sony devices : BETACAMS

Betacam is a range of video cassette products that was released by Sony starting in 1982.

30 Creed : TENET

A tenet is an article of faith, something that is held to be true. “Tenet” is Latin for “he/she/it holds”.

A creed or credo is a profession of faith, or a system of belief or principles. “Credo” is Latin for “I believe”.

34 Invoices : BILLS

An invoice is an itemized bill. The term “invoice” comes from the Middle French “envois” meaning “dispatch (of goods)”. The root verb is “envoyer”, which translates as “to send”.

35 St. whose Charter Oak fell in 1856 : CONN

The oak depicted on the Connecticut quarter is the Charter Oak. The tree earned its name from the legend that the original Royal Charter for the colony was hidden in a cavity of the tree for a while. The tree no longer exists, as it went down in a storm in 1856.

36 __ pro nobis : ORA

“Ora pro nobis” translates from Latin as “pray for us”. It is a common phrase used in the Roman Catholic tradition and is often shortened to “OPN”.

39 Elements of love and hate : SILENT ES

The final letter in the words “love” and “hate” is a silent letter E.

41 Actress Cuthbert : ELISHA

Elisha Cuthbert is a Canadian actress who came to world attention playing Kim Bauer, Jack Bauer’s daughter on TV’s “24”. After “24”, Cuthbert played one of the lead characters on the sitcom “Happy Endings” that ran from 2011 to 2013.

42 Sole protector? : GALOSH

Galoshes are rubber overshoes worn to protect shoes in bad weather. A particular kind of galosh covers only the upper part of the shoe, and it is known as a gaiter or a spat.

43 NASA __: research center in Silicon Valley : AMES

The Ames Research Center is located at Moffett Field at the southern tip of San Francisco Bay. Joseph Ames was a member of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics when it was formed in 1915, and chaired the committee from 1919-1939.

The Santa Clara Valley, located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay, is better known as “Silicon Valley”. The term “Silicon Valley” dates back to 1971 when it was apparently first used in a weekly trade newspaper called “Electronic News” in articles written by journalist Don Hoefler.

44 Third novel in Marilynne Robinson’s “Gilead” series : LILA

“Lila” is a 2014 novel by Marilynne Robinson that is the third installment in the “Gilead” series, following “Gilead” and “Home”.

52 Five-spice powder ingredient : STAR ANISE

Star anise is a spice similar to anise in flavor, even though it is obtained from an evergreen tree native to Vietnam and southwest China that is unrelated to the anise plant. The spice is obtained from the tree’s star-shaped fruits.

Five-spice powder is a mixture of five spices that is used in some Asian and Arabic cuisines. The five ingredients can vary, but a common formulation is:

• Star anise
• Cloves
• Chinese cinnamon
• Sichuan pepper
• Fennel seeds

53 Clerical home : MANSE

A manse is a minister’s home in various Christian traditions. “Manse” derives from “mansus”, the Latin for “dwelling”. The term can also be used for any stately residence.

55 “The __ Scrolls”: video game series : ELDER

“The Elder Scrolls” is a series of role-playing video games that debuted in 1994 with “The Elder Scrolls: Arena”.

57 2020 NL batting champion : SOTO

Juan Soto is a professional baseball player from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. He made his MLB debut with the Washington Nationals in 2018, and in so doing became the youngest player in the majors (at 19).

Down

1 Russell’s “The Christmas Chronicles 2” co-star : HAWN

I remember watching the ditsy character played by Goldie Hawn on “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In”. Hawn used to give great performances on the show, convincing everyone that she was the stereotypical dumb blonde. Well, what a great career she was to carve out for herself!

Actor Kurt Russell’s career started when he was a child playing a lead role in the TV Western series “The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters” in the sixties. Russell met actress Goldie Hawn on the set of the 1984 film “Swing Shift”, and the two have been in a committed relationship ever since.

“The Christmas Chronicles 2” is an entertaining 2020 holiday movie, a sequel to 2018’s “The Christmas Chronicles”. Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn reprise their roles, as Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus respectively. I enjoyed this one, although I still think that the original is more fun …

2 Fifth letter of the NATO alphabet : ECHO

The NATO phonetic alphabet is also called the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) phonetic alphabet. Alfa, Bravo, Charlie … X-ray, Yankee, Zulu.

3 Bygone scheduling app : ICAL

Apple’s personal calendar app is known as “Calendar”. It runs on both the macOS desktop and iOS mobile operating systems. Prior to 2012, the mac version of the app went by the name “iCal”.

6 Moon goddess : LUNA

“Luna” is the Latin word for “moon”, and is the name given to the Roman moon goddess. The Greek equivalent of Luna was Selene. Luna had a temple on the Aventine Hill in Rome but it was destroyed during the Great Fire that raged during the reign of Nero. She also had a temple on the Palatine Hill in which a lamp remained lit, illuminating the night.

7 Source of calcium and magnesium in compost : EGGSHELLS

Composting is the process of decomposing organic matter to make the soil conditioner known as “compost”. The term “compost” ultimately comes from the Latin “com” (together) and “ponere” (to place). Compost is best made by “putting together” green waste that is rich in nitrogen, with brown waste that is rich in carbon, all in the presence of water and air.

10 Robotic sorts : AUTOMATONS

Karel Čapek was a Czech writer noted for his works of science fiction. Čapek’s 1921 play “R.U.R.” is remembered in part for introducing the world to the word “robot”. The words “automaton” and “android” were already in use, but Capek gave us “robot” from the original Czech “robota” meaning “forced labor”. The acronym “R.U.R.”, in the context of the play, stands for “Rossum’s Universal Robots”.

11 When Obergefell v. Hodges was issued : PRIDE MONTH

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.

Obergefell v. Hodges is the 2015 case in which the US Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have the fundamental right to marry. Famously, President Obama had the White House illuminated in rainbow colors on the night of the ruling.

12 Groups at the gym : SETS

Our word “gymnasium” comes from the Greek “gymnasion” meaning “public place where exercise is taken”. The Greek term comes from “gymnos” meaning “naked”, as that physical training was usually done unclothed in ancient Greece.

14 Tamagotchi alternative : NEOPET

Neopets.com is a website where one can own a virtual pet. I wouldn’t bother if I were you …

Tamagotchis are hand-held digital pets from Japan. They come housed in tiny egg-shaped computers, usually with a three-button interface. The Tamagotchis can be named, get hungry, and can be happy or sad. Care is provided by the owner using the interface buttons. The name “Tamagotchi” comes from the Japanese word “tamago” meaning “egg”, melded with the English word “watch”.

24 “Hi hungry, I’m __” : DAD

That would be a Dad joke, and not a great one …

25 Literary musketeer : ATHOS

Alexandre Dumas’ “Three Musketeers” are Athos, Porthos and Aramis, although the hero of the novel is the trio’s young protégé D’Artagnan. A musketeer was an infantry soldier who was equipped with a musket. Funnily enough, the three “musketeers” really don’t use their muskets, and are better known for prowess with their swords.

27 Checked out : IN LA-LA LAND

“La-la land” is a euphemism for a state of unconsciousness or a dreamworld.

28 Gymnast honored with a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2022 : BILES

Artistic gymnast Simone Biles holds many, many world and US records. In 2022, President Joe Biden presented her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, making her the youngest person ever to receive the award.

29 Posthumous “General Hospital” Daytime Emmy winner Eddy : SONYA

Actress Sonya Eddy is best known for her performances on the soap opera “General Hospital”, portraying head nurse Epiphany Johnson. She won a Daytime Emmy for her work on “General Hospital” in 2023, but it was awarded posthumously, as Eddy passed away unexpectedly at the end of 2022 at the age of 55.

41 __ board : EMERY

Emery is a very hard type of rock that is crushed for use as an abrasive. Emery paper is made by gluing small particles of emery to paper. Emery boards are just emery paper with a cardboard backing. And emery boards are primarily used for filing nails.

46 Jazz venue : UTAH

The Utah Jazz professional basketball team moved to Salt Lake City in 1979. As one might guess from the name, the team originated in New Orleans, but only played there for five seasons. New Orleans was a tough place to be based because venues were hard to come by, and Mardi Gras forced the team to play on the road for a whole month.

47 Parting word : CIAO

“Ciao” is Italian for “‘bye”. “Arrivederci” is more formal, and translates as “goodbye”.

49 “Self Explanatory” R&B artist : NE-YO

“Ne-Yo” is the stage name of R&B singer Shaffer Chimere Smith. He began his career as a songwriter, penning hits for artists such as Mario, Rihanna, and Beyoncé. In 2006, he released his debut album “In My Own Words”, which launched Ne-Yo’s career as a solo artist.