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Constructed by: Carly Schuna
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme (in accordance with Bill): Start the Car

Themed solutions are frequent phrases, reinterpreted by referencing a mannequin of automotive initially of every reply:

• 17A Place that showcases sure Fords? : ESCAPE ROOM
• 29A Beacon that illuminates some Hondas? : PILOT LIGHT
• 46A Starting line for a race solely for some Hyundais? : ACCENT MARK
• 62A Overall situation of sure Nissans? : ROGUE STATE

Read on, or soar to …
… an entire record of solutions

Bill’s time: 7m 35s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Minor in astronomy? : URSA

Ursa Minor (Latin for “Smaller Bear”) sits proper beside the constellation Draco (Latin for “Dragon”). Ursa Minor was thought-about the wing of Draco, and was as soon as referred to as “Dragon’s Wing”. The tail of the “Smaller Bear” may additionally be thought-about because the deal with of a ladle, and so the constellation is sometimes called the Little Dipper.

5 Golden St. area : SOCAL

Southern California (SoCal)

“Golden State” has been the official nickname of California since 1968. The nickname displays the enlargement of the state’s financial system that adopted the invention of gold in 1848, and in addition the fields of golden poppies seen rising wild throughout California within the spring.

10 Org. that features the Sun and the Sky : WNBA

The WNBA’s Connecticut Sun joined the league as an enlargement staff in 1999 because the Orlando Miracle. The Miracle moved to Uncasville, Connecticut in 2003, altering their identify to the Sun. For a number of years, the Sun had been the one WNBA franchise that didn’t share the native market with an NBA staff. That distinction ended when the NBA’s Supersonics relocated, leaving the WNBA’s Storm as the one skilled staff based mostly in Seattle.

The Chicago Sky are knowledgeable basketball staff based mostly in Rosemont, Illinois that performs within the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Sky had been based in 2006

16 Swag : HAUL

Swag is loot, stolen property, and a time period that started off as prison slang in England within the 1830s. “Swag” can be the identify given to the promotional freebies out there at some occasions. That stated, there’s an city fantasy that the promotional model of “swag” is an acronym standing for “stuff we all get”.

17 Place that showcases sure Fords? : ESCAPE ROOM

The Ford Escape is an SUV that was developed collectively with Mazda and launched within the 2001 mannequin 12 months. The Mazda model of the identical car is called the Tribute.

19 Marine mammal with the identical colours as an Oreo : ORCA

The taxonomic identify for the killer whale is “Orcinus orca”. The use of the identify “orca”, moderately than “killer whale”, is changing into increasingly frequent. The Latin phrase “Orcinus” means “belonging to Orcus”, with Orcus being the identify for the Kingdom of the Dead.

National Oreo Cookie Day is March sixth annually. There is an city legend that the actual day was chosen as this was the day that the identify “Oreo” was registered as a trademark. However, that’s not the case. The software was filed on March 14, 1912 and registration passed off on August 12, 1913. The suggestion is that the primary Oreos went on sale on March 6, 1912.

26 Planets, poetically : ORBS

The eight planets of our photo voltaic system will be sorted into two classes. Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars are “terrestrials” as they’re largely composed of rock. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are “gas giants”, as they’re largely composed of gaseous materials. Uranus and Neptune will be referred to as “ice giants”, a subcategory of gasoline giants. Ice giants have a decrease mass than different gasoline giants, with little or no hydrogen and helium of their atmospheres and a better proportion of rock and ice.

29 Beacon that illuminates some Hondas? : PILOT LIGHT

The Honda Pilot is a mid-size crossover SUV that was launched in 2002. The luxurious model of the car is offered because the Acura MDX.

36 Oft-injured knee elements, for brief : ACLS

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one in every of 4 main ligaments that help the knee.

37 Falcon’s 69-Across : AERIE
[69A Egg holder : NEST}

An aerie (sometimes “eyrie”) is an eagle’s nest, and a young eagle is an eaglet.The term “aerie” can also more generally describe any bird’s nest that is located on a cliff or a mountaintop.

There are about 40 species of the birds of prey classed as falcons, with examples being several species of kestrel. Falcons differ from hawks and eagles in that they kill their prey with their beaks, as opposed to their talons. Famously, falcons swoop down on their prey at great speed. Peregrine falcons have been clocked at well over 200 miles per hour, making them the fastest-moving creatures on the planet.

41 Nail-biting NFL periods : OTS

Overtime (OT)

42 Dharma follower : HINDU

Hinduism is the world’s third largest religion, after Christianity and Islam.

In the Hindu tradition, the term “dharma” describes the laws of the natural universe. The observance of those laws enables one to be content and happy, and to avoid suffering.

44 Desktop with a Retina 5K display : IMAC

“Retina Display” is a brand name used by Apple for screens that have a high enough pixel density so that individual pixels are not visible to the naked eye at normal viewing distance.

46 Starting line for a race exclusively for some Hyundais? : ACCENT MARK

The Accent is a subcompact car that was introduced by Hyundai in 1994.

49 “Wanted to mention,” for short : BTW

By the way (BTW)

62 Overall condition of certain Nissans? : ROGUE STATE

The Rogue is a compact SUV that Nissan introduced in the 2008 model year. Outside of North America, the same vehicle is sold as the X-Trail.

65 Nautical units : KNOTS

A knot (kt.) is a unit of speed equal to one nautical mile per hour. Traditionally a vessel’s speed was determined by using a “chip log”. A chip log is made up of a wooden board attached to a line wrapped around a reel. The line (called a “log-line”) had knots tied in it at uniform spacings. To determine the vessel’s speed the board was thrown overboard and the line allowed to unroll. The speed was then the “number of knots” paid out in a fixed time interval.

66 Former Indiana governor Bayh : EVAN

Evan Bayh is the son of Birch Bayh, and like his father was US Senator for the state of Indiana. Prior to serving in the Senate, Evan Bayh was State Governor.

67 Blue part of blue cheese : MOLD

Being a bit of a French speaker (admittedly, a very poor one), the term “bleu cheese” has always kind of irritated me. I would prefer that we use either “blue cheese” or “fromage bleu” and not mix the languages, but then I can be annoyingly picky! It’s said that blue cheese was probably discovered accidentally, as molds tend to develop in the same conditions that are best for storing cheese. The blue mold in the cheese is introduced by adding Penicillium spores before the cheese is allowed to set. And yes, it’s the same mold that is used to produce penicillin, the antibiotic.

68 Fills completely : SATES

“Sate” is a variant of the older word “satiate”. Both terms can mean either to satisfy an appetite fully, or to eat to excess.

Down

1 Taxi alternative : UBER

Uber is a ridesharing service that was founded in 2009 and is based in San Francisco. The service is somewhat controversial and has been described as an illegal taxicab operation. Central to Uber’s service is the company’s mobile app, which can use the client’s GPS location to help find the nearest available ride. Uber’s main competitor is Lyft.

2 Thorny subject? : ROSE

Believe it or not, roses don’t have any thorns as such. Thorns are derived from shoots, spines are derived from leaves, and prickles are derived from the epidermis. The rose’s defensive barbs are in fact prickles.

8 __ gobi: potato and cauliflower dish : ALOO

Aloo gobi is a very tasty vegetarian dish in Indian cuisine made from potatoes and cauliflower, flavored with traditional Indian spices. “Aloo” translates to “potato” and “gobi” to “cauliflower”.

10 __ pie : WHOOPIE

A whoopie pie is sometimes referred to as a “BFO”, standing for Big Fat Oreo. The latter term is quite descriptive as a whoopie pie is made from two mound-shaped pieces of chocolate cake placed above and below a white creamy filling. There is some evidence that the confection originated with the Pennsylvania Amish. Apparently, when farmers found the pie in their lunch bags they shouted “whoopie!”, hence the name.

11 DEA agent : NARC

“Narc” and “narco” are slang terms describing a law enforcement officer who tracks down criminals associated with illegal drugs. Both words are short for “narcotics officer”. Narcs might work for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

12 Mets manager Showalter : BUCK

Buck Showalter serves as the manager of the New York Yankees, the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Texas Rangers and the Baltimore Orioles baseball teams. Showalter has won the American League’s Manager of the Year award three times.

18 “I threw away my golf shoes when I got a hole in one,” e.g. : PUN

Here are some of my favorite puns:

• A man died today when a pile of books fell on him. He only had his shelf to blame.
• I hate negative numbers and will stop at nothing to avoid them.
• I wasn’t going to get a brain transplant, but then I changed my mind.
• I should have been sad when my flashlight batteries died, but I was delighted.

22 Leaves in a bowl : SALAD

Our word “salad” comes from the Latin “salare” meaning “to salt”. The Latin “herba salata” translates as “salted vegetables”, which I guess could be a salad …

24 Mr. Boddy in Clue, e.g. : VICTIM

Clue is a board game that we knew under a different name growing up in Ireland. Outside of North America, Clue is marketed as “Cluedo”. Cluedo was the original name of the game, introduced in 1949 by the famous British board game manufacturer Waddingtons. There are cute differences between the US and UK versions. For example, the man who is murdered is called Dr. Black (Mr. Boddy in the US), one of the suspects is the Reverend Green (Mr. Green in the US), and the suspect weapons include a dagger (a knife in the US), and a spanner (a wrench in the US). I think it’s a fabulous game, a must during the holidays …

26 Missouri River city : OMAHA

Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska. It is located on the Missouri River, about 10 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River. When Nebraska was still a territory Omaha was its capital, but when Nebraska achieved statehood the capital was moved to the city of Lincoln.

At 2,341 miles, the Missouri is the longest river in North America. Rising in Montana in the Rocky Mountains, it flows into the Mississippi at St. Louis. The Mississippi-Missouri river system is the fourth largest on the planet.

27 Remnant of the past : RELIC

A relic is something that has survived from the past, reminding us of that past. In the world of religion, a relic is an object revered due to its association with a saint or martyr.

28 Sauvignon __ : BLANC

Sauvignon blanc is a variety of grape used in wine-making. It is an old grape variety, and is indigenous to South West France. The name “sauvignon” probably comes from the French word “sauvage” meaning “wild”, and probably refers to its origins as a grape growing wild. The term “Fumé Blanc” may be used in California for a sauvignon blanc wine, but that’s just marketing.

30 Andes animal : LLAMA

The llama is a camelid mammal very much associated with the Andean cultures. Despite the association with South America, it is thought that the ancestors of the modern llama migrated south from the Great Plains of North America about 40 million years ago.

31 Filmdom awards : OSCARS

Legend has it that actor Emilio Fernández was the model for the Oscar statuette. Cedric Gibbons, art director at MGM, created the design and supposedly convinced a reluctant Fernández to pose nude for “Oscar”.

34 Battery units? : TESTS

Tests often come in batteries, as in “a battery of tests”.

47 Dances suggestively : TWERKS

Twerking is a dancing move in which someone (usually a woman) shakes her hips up and down causing a lot of “wobbling”. It’s possible that “twerk” is a portmanteau of “twist” and “jerk”. The term may have been coined back in the early 2000s with the song “Whistle While You Twurk” released by the Ying Yang Twins. Twerking became a real phenomenon in 2013 when Miley Cyrus posted a video of herself twerking in a unicorn suit to the 2011 song “Wop” by J. Dash. That video went viral on YouTube, amassing over 4 million views in no time at all.

51 Opposite of trans : CIS

In Latin, the prefix “cis-” means “this side of”. The prefix “trans-” means “the other side of”.

52 Proctor’s handout : EXAM

A proctor is a supervisor, and especially a person overseeing a school examination or a dormitory. The word “proctor” originated in the late 1500s, and is a contraction of the word “procurator”, the name given to an official agent of a church.

53 Sentimental sign-off : XOXO

In the sequence letter sequence “X-O-X”, the X represents a kiss, and the O a hug. “O-O-O” is a string of hugs, and “X-X-X” a string of kisses. Hugs and kisses …

54 Winnow : CULL

To cull is to pick out the best, get rid of the rejects.

We use the verb “to winnow” in a figurative sense to describe the separation of something good from a collection of worthless things. The more literal meaning is the freeing of grain from the lighter chaff by blowing on the mixture, or by throwing it in the air.

55 Poet Van Duyn : MONA

Mona Van Duyn was a poet from Waterloo, Iowa. Van Duyn won the National Book Award in 1971, the Pulitzer Prize in 1991, and served as US Poet Laureate from 1992 to 1993.

56 Award quartet that includes 31-Down : EGOT
[31D Filmdom awards : OSCARS]

The acronym “EGOT” stands for “Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony”, and is a reference to performers who’ve received all 4 awards.

63 Shoshonean language : UTE

The Shoshone Native-American individuals comprise 4 cultural teams:

• The Eastern Shoshone in Wyoming
• The Northern Shoshone in southeastern Idaho
• The Western Shoshone in Nevada and northern Utah
• The Gosiute in western Utah and japanese Nevada

One of the extra celebrated Shoshone individuals was Sacagawea, the girl who traveled hundreds of miles with the Lewis and Clark Expedition, serving as a information and interpreter.

The publish LA Times Crossword 3 Nov 22, Thursday appeared first on LAXCrossword.com.

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