ODU Makes a Cameo in Los Angeles Times Crossword

Fans of the Los Angeles Times crossword had to be familiar with their large, southeastern Virginia public universities in order to complete one of the newspaper's recent puzzles.

Old Dominion University made a cameo appearance in the Aug. 22 LA Times crossword.

Along with clues such as "fruit also called prairie bananas" and " 'The Royal Tenenbaums' director Anderson," puzzle solvers had to wrestle with this clue for 19 across: "Norfolk, Virginia Sch."

Naturally, the answer was three letters: O-D-U.

The puzzle appears everyday in the Los Angeles Times, one of the largest-circulation newspapers in the country. The crossword is also syndicated daily through Tribune Media Services, the Times' parent company, and available online.

The popular blog "L.A. Crossword Confidential" was filled with positive comments from puzzle aficionados, many of whom were tripped up by the Norfolk clue because they live on the West Coast.

For the record, here are the answers to the clues above: The fruit also called a prairie banana is the papaw, and Wes Anderson directed the movie "The Royal Tenenbaums."