LA Times Crossword 21 Nov 24, Thursday – LAXCrossword.com (2024)

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Volleyball official : REF

Indoor volleyball was invented in 1895 and was originally called “mintonette”, a reference to the related game of “badminton”. The variant called beach volleyball originated in 1915 on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, but was popularized on the beaches of Santa Monica starting in 1920.

4 Nirvana genre : GRUNGE

Grunge is a form of what is called “alternative rock” music. It originated in the state of Washington in the mid-eighties and is also known as the Seattle sound.

Nirvana was a rock band formed in Washington in 1987 by Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic. The band effectively disbanded in 1994 after Cobain committed suicide.

10 Style alternative to MLA : APA

MLA (Modern Language Association) and APA (American Psychological Association) are two of the most common citation styles used in academic writing. MLA uses in-text citations with author-page number format (e.g., Smith 12) and a “Works Cited” page at the end. APA uses in-text citations with author-date format (e.g., Smith, 2023) and a “References” page at the end.

14 Service provider based in Tehran : IRAN AIR

Iran Air was founded in 1944 as Iranian Airways Company, and so is the oldest airline operating today in the Middle East.

22 Low point : NADIR

The nadir is the direction pointing immediately below a particular location (through to the other side of the Earth for example). The opposite direction, that pointing immediately above, is called the zenith. We use the terms “nadir” and “zenith” figuratively to mean the low and high points in a person’s fortunes.

24 “Take it elsewhere, lovebirds!” : GET A ROOM! (hiding “DIR-GE”)

A dirge is a slow and mournful piece of music, like perhaps a funeral hymn.

26 Sequenced sequence : GENOME

The genome is all the hereditary information needed to reproduce an organism, in other words, all of its chromosomes. When scientists unravel the human genome, it takes up an awful lot of computer storage space, and yet all of this information is in almost every cell in our bodies. Each and every cell “knows” how to make a whole human being.

29 GLAAD, for one : NGO

Non-governmental organization (NGO)

GLAAD is a non-governmental media monitoring organization that was founded in 1985 as the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. The organization changed its name to GLAAD in 2013 to reflect the organization’s efforts to support the whole of the LGBTQ+ community.

33 Actress Tracee __ Ross : ELLIS

Actress Tracee Ellis Ross is perhaps best known for playing lead roles in the TV shows “Girlfriends” and “black-ish”. She was born Tracee Joy Silberstein, and is the daughter of singer Diana Ross and music executive Robert Ellis Silberstein.

37 Cake decorator’s substance : FONDANT

Fondant icing is a smooth, pliable icing that’s often used to decorate cakes and pastries. It has a dough-like consistency that can be rolled out and draped over cakes for a sleek, polished look. Fondant really can provide a beautiful finish, but it has a somewhat divisive taste and texture, often described as overly sweet and chewy.

40 Toxic plant in the carrot family : HEMLOCK (hiding “ANT-HEM”)

Hemlock is a highly poisonous plant that belongs to the carrot family. For humans, eating just 6-8 fresh leaves from the plant can be fatal. Hemlock is infamously known for being used to execute Socrates in ancient Greece.

43 TikTok mashup, e.g. : EDIT

TikTok is a video-sharing service based in China that is very popular with the younger set (I am told). The original and equivalent service in China is known as Douyin, which went live in 2016. TikTok was launched the following year as the global version of Douyin.

45 Non opposite : OUI

In French, “oui” (yes) or “non” (no) might be responses to “un questionnaire” (a questionnaire).

51 Game also known as table soccer : FOOSBALL

The modern game of table football was invented in 1921 in the UK. We tend to call the game “foosball” in the US, which presumably is derived from the German “Fussball” meaning “football”.

55 Pueblo material : ADOBE

A pueblo is a Native-American village found in the American Southwest. The buildings in a pueblo are usually made of stone and adobe mud.

57 Woodwind commonly made of grenadilla wood : OBOE

Grenadilla (also “African blackwood”) is a flowering plant and source of timber that is native to parts of Africa. The plant’s wood is dense and highly prized for the manufacture of musical instruments and fine furniture.

65 Private online convos : DMS

Direct message (DM)

67 Korean automaker : KIA

Kia Motors is the second-largest manufacturer of cars in South Korea, behind Hyundai (and Hyundai is a part owner in Kia now). Kia was founded in 1944 as a manufacturer of bicycle parts, and did indeed produce Korea’s first domestic bicycle. The company’s original name was Kyungsung Precision Industry, with the Kia name introduced in 1952.

69 Thomas of the WNBA or Thompson of the NWSL : ALYSSA

Alyssa Thomas is a dominant power forward who was drafted by the New York Liberty in the 2014 WNBA draft, and then traded on draft day to the Connecticut Sun. She is known for a very unique shooting style. She shoots with one hand, almost like an underhand toss, which is pretty rare in basketball.

Alyssa Thompson was the #1 draft pick in the 2023 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) draft, going straight from high school to the pros. When she was just 17 years old, she and her 16-year-old sister Gisele signed a name, image, and likeness deal with Nike, becoming the first high school athletes to do so.

70 Equinox mo. : SEP

An equinox is a phenomenon dictated by the tilt of the earth’s axis. Twice every year, that tilt “evens out” and the sun is equidistant from points at the same latitude both north and south of the equator. It is as if the earth has no tilt relative to the sun. The term “equinox” comes from the Latin for “equal night”, inferring that night and day are equally long, as the effect of the earth’s “tilt” is nullified. Equinoxes occur each year around March 21st (the vernal equinox) and September 23rd (the autumnal equinox).

Down

1 Issa of “Insecure” : RAE

“Insecure” is a comedy-drama TV show that premiered in 2016. It is co-written by and stars Issa Rae, who also created the comedy web series “Awkward Black Girl” on which “Insecure” is based.

2 Actress Pompeo : ELLEN

Actress Ellen Pompeo is perhaps best known for playing the title character in the TV medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy”. That gig has paid well. Pompeo was ranked third in the “Forbes” list of highest-paid TV actresses in 2017, with Sofia Vergara (from “Modern Family”) and Kaley Cuoco (from “The Big Bang Theory”) holding the first and second spots respectively.

3 Geometric paper toys : FLEXAGONS

Flexagons are paper polygons that can be “flexed” to reveal hidden faces. They’re created by folding strips of paper into specific shapes, and then manipulating them to reveal different surfaces.

5 Brand with anti-ant products : RAID

Raid insecticide has been killing bugs since 1956.

7 Shiny shell material : NACRE

Nacre, also known as mother-of-pearl, is the strong iridescent material laid down by some mollusks on the inside of their shells, and it’s also what makes up pearls. The creature lays down nacre as a defensive mechanism, protecting the soft tissue of its body from the rough surface of the outer shell. Similarly, it uses nacre to encapsulate harmful debris or a parasite that penetrates the shell, and that’s how a pearl is formed. Cultured pearls are made by inserting a tissue graft from a donor oyster, around which the nacre is laid down.

8 Titans : GIANTS

The Titans were a group of twelve older deities in Greek mythology, the twelve children of the primordial Gaia and Uranus, Mother Earth and Father Sky. In the celebrated Battle of the Titans, they were overthrown by the Olympians, who were twelve younger gods. We use the term “titan” figuratively to describe a powerful person, someone with great influence.

10 Olympian Ohno : APOLO

Speed-skater Apolo Ohno has won more Winter Olympics medals than any other American. Ohno also did a great job winning the 2007 season of television’s “Dancing with the Stars”.

11 Diet inspired by hunter-gatherers : PALEO

The paleolithic (or “paleo, caveman”) diet is a fad diet that became popular in the 2000s. The idea is to eat wild plants and animals that would have been available to humans during the Paleolithic era (roughly the Stone Age). This period precedes the introduction of agriculture and the domestication of animals. As a result, someone on the diet avoids consuming grains, legumes, dairy and processed foods. The diet consists mainly of lean meat (about 45-65% of the total calorie intake), non-starchy vegetables, fruits, berries and nuts.

21 Green shampoo brand : PRELL

Prell shampoo was introduced by Procter & Gamble in 1947. Back then it was a clear green concentrate sold in a tube (like toothpaste).

27 Plant pest : MITE

Mites are tiny arthropods in the arachnid (spider) class. They are (annoyingly!) very successful creatures that have adapted to all sorts of habitats. And being so small, mites generally pass unnoticed. Ick …

29 Gp. with Lions and Bears : NFL

The Detroit Lions are the NFL team that play home games at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. The team was founded way back in 1929 as the Portsmouth Spartans from Portsmouth, Ohio. The Spartans joined the NFL during the Great Depression as other franchises collapsed. However, the Spartans couldn’t command a large enough gate in Portsmouth so the team was sold and relocated to Detroit in 1934.

The Chicago Bears football team was founded in Decatur, Illinois in 1919 and moved to Chicago in 1921. The Bears are one of only two franchises in the NFL that were around at the time of the league’s founding (the other being the Arizona Cardinals, also based in Chicago in 1921).

34 Compilations for fashion influencers : LOOKBOOKS

Lookbooks are curated collections of images that visually showcase a style or concept, often used in fashion to present new collections and inspire outfit ideas. They can also be used in other fields like interior design and photography to present ideas and aesthetics.

39 Many an Egyptian : ARAB

The nation of Egypt straddles the geographical border between Asia and Africa. That land border is the 75-mile-wide Isthmus of Suez, which is crossed by the Suez Canal. The bulk of Egyptian territory is in Africa. The part of Egypt that is in Asia is the Sinai Peninsula.

41 Jazz legend James : ETTA

Etta James had a tough upbringing and faced many challenges. She was born to an unmarried teenage mother and never knew her father. She experienced abuse and hardship, and even dealt with heroin addiction. Despite all this, she rose to become one of the most iconic and influential singers of all time, known for her powerful voice and soulful performances.

44 Hong Kong currency : DOLLARS

Hong Kong became part of the British Empire after the First Opium War in 1842. In 1898, Britain signed a 99-year lease to retain control of Hong Kong. That control ended 99 years later in 1997 with a formal transfer of sovereignty back to China.

52 “The Light We Carry” writer Michelle : OBAMA

“The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times” is Michelle Obama’s 2022 follow-up to her bestselling 2018 memoir, “Becoming.” In this book, she shares personal stories and strategies she uses for navigating life’s challenges and staying hopeful in the face of uncertainty.

56 Bert’s buddy : ERNIE

For many years, I believed that the “Sesame Street” characters Bert and Ernie were named after two roles played in the Christmas classic “It’s a Wonderful Life”. In the movie, the policeman’s name is Bert and his taxi-driving buddy is named Ernie. However, the “Sesame Street” folks have stated that the use of the same names is just a coincidence. Aww, I don’t wanna believe that’s a coincidence …

62 Deg. for creatives : BFA

The degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is primarily designed for students intent on pursuing a career in the visual or performing arts.