LA Times Crossword Answers 20 Jul 16, Wednesday




LA Times Crossword Solution 20 Jul 16







Constructed by: Janice Luttrell

Edited by: Rich Norris

Quicklink to a complete list of today’s clues and answers

Quicklink to comments

Theme: High-End

Each of today’s themed answers begins with a word that often follows HIGH:

  • 24D…Top-of-the-line, and what each of the four longest puzzle answers begins with?..HIGH-END
  • 3D…Contact skating sport..ROLLER DERBY (giving “high roller”)
  • 9D…Act too quickly..JUMP THE GUN (giving “high jump”)
  • 27D…Kind of tackle made illegal in the NFL in 2005..HORSE-COLLAR (giving “high horse”)
  • 31D…Cartoon bird that first appeared in “Fast and Furry-ous”..ROAD RUNNER (giving “high road”)

Bill’s time: 6m 09s

Bill’s errors: 0




Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies

Across

6…Pantry pest..ANT

The word “pantry” dates back to 1300 when it came into English from the Old French “panetrie” meaning a “bread room”. Bread is “pain” in French, and “panis” in Latin.

14…Successor of Pope John X..LEO VI

Pope Leo VI was in office for just 9 months, spanning the years 928 and 929. Leo VI apparently wasn’t his own man, and fell under the control of a wealthy Roman noblewoman called Marozia. Marozia had allegedly been the mistress of Pope Sergius III, had ordered the imprisonment and death of Pope John X, then making Leo VI head of the Roman Catholic church.

17…”You Be __”: 1986 Run-D.M.C. hit..ILLIN’

Run-D.M.C. was a hip hop group from Queens, New York. The trio took its name from two of the group’s members: Joseph “Run” Simmons and Darryl “D.M.C.” McDaniels.

18…Dr. Brown’s classic drink..CREAM SODA

Dr. Brown’s is a soda brand that’s big in and around New York City. The original formulation first went on the market in 1869, and was primarily sold in Jewish neighborhoods. Dr. Brown’s had a kosher certification long before Coca-Cola achieved the same status in the 1930s.

19…Pasadena institute..CALTECH

Caltech is more properly known as the California Institute of Technology, and is a private research-oriented school in Pasadena. One of Caltech’s responsibilities is the management and operation of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. If you watch “The Big Bang Theory” on television like me, you might know that the four lead characters all work at Caltech.

21…Mysterious power..ESP

Extrasensory perception (ESP)

22…Slush Puppie maker..ICEE

Slush Puppie and ICEE are brands of frozen, slushy drinks. Ostensibly competing brands, ICEE company now owns the Slush Puppie brand.

25…Cries out for calamine..ITCHES

Calamine is mainly zinc oxide, with a small percentage of iron oxide. Calamine is incorporated into a lotion that is used for many things, including treatment of sunburn and itching.

30…Three times, in an Rx..TER

“Ter” is the Latin word for “three”, commonly used in the medical world on prescriptions as part of the expression “ter in die”. “Ter in die” is Latin for “three times a day”, abbreviated to “TID”. “Bis in die” (BID) would be twice a day, and “quater in die” (QID) would be four times a day.

There seems to some uncertainty about the origin of the symbol “Rx” that’s used for a medical prescription. One explanation is that it comes from the astrological sign for Jupiter, a symbol put on prescriptions in days of old to invoke Jupiter’s blessing to help a patient recover.

31…Notes after do..RE MI

The solfa syllables are: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la & ti.

33…__-wop music..DOO

Doo-wop developed in the 1940s and can be described as a vocal-based R&B music. Even though the style has been around since the forties, the name doo-wop wasn’t introduced until the early sixties.

35…Starting device: Abbr…IGN

The first ignition key was introduced by Chrysler back in 1949. Prior to the use of ignition keys, vehicles had both an ignition on/off switch and a starter button.

37…Belgian banknotes..EUROS

The “eurozone” or “euro area” is a monetary and economic union within the European Union that uses the euro as a shared legal tender and sole currency.

38…Speedmaster watchmaker..OMEGA

The manually wound Omega Speedmaster was the first watch worn by an astronaut on the surface of the moon. Neil Armstrong left his Speedmaster inside the Lunar Module, but Buzz Aldrin wore his.

40…__ Na Na..SHA

Do you remember the band “Johnny Casino & The Gamblers” in the movie “Grease”? That was actually the real-world group Sha Na Na. Johnny Casino & the Gamblers sang “Those Magic Changes” at the high school dance, in between “Rock’N Roll Is Here to Stay” and “Hound Dog”. Sha Na Na got together in the sixties and are still performing today.

41…Gypsum painting surface..GESSO

Gesso is the Italian word for “chalk” and gives its name to the powdered calcium carbonate that is used as a primer coat under artistic panel paintings. The gesso is mixed with a glue and applied to wood so that it acts as an absorbent surface for paint.

43…President pro __..TEM

“Pro tempore” is a Latin phrase that best translates as “for the time being”. It is used to describe a person who is acting for another, usually a superior. The President pro tempore of the US Senate is the person who presides over the Senate in the absence of the Vice President of the US.

44…Salt Lake City collegian..UTE

The Runnin’ Utes are the basketball team of the University of Utah. The team was given the nickname the Runnin’ Redskins back when Jack Gardner was the head coach from 1953 to 1971. The “Runnin'” part of the name was chosen because Gardner was famous for playing quick offenses. The “Redskins” name was later dropped in favor of the less controversial “Utes”.

47…Wolfgang’s veto..NEIN

“Nein” is the German for “no”.

53…U.K. military award..DSO

The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a British military award that is usually presented to officers with the rank of Major or higher.

54…Buckwheat noodle..SOBA

Soba is a thin Japanese noodle made from buckwheat flour. In Japan, the word soba tends to be used to describe any thin noodle, in contrast with the thicker noodles that are called udon.

57…”I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” autobiographer Maya..ANGELOU

Maya Angelou is an African-American autobiographer and poet. Angelou recited her poem “On the Pulse of Morning” at the inauguration of President Clinton in 1983.

59…Writer of medical thrillers..ROBIN COOK

Robin Cook is novelist from New York who writes thrillers dealing with medical situations. Cook’s first major novel “Coma” was made into a 1978 feature film directed by Michael Crichton and starring Geneviève Bujold and Michael Douglas. Cook is himself a physician and is currently on leave with the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.

68…WKRP’s Nessman..LES

Les Nessman is a character in the sitcom “WKRP in Cincinatti”. Nessman is the shy balding guy who always wears a bow tie.

Down

3…Contact skating sport..ROLLER DERBY (giving “high roller”)

The sport of roller derby has an international footprint, with almost half the world’s teams being located outside of the US. Most of the teams playing the sport are all-female.

4…Party-planning site..EVITE

Evite.com is a website launched in 1998 that is used to create, send and manage “evites”, online invitations.

8…Overly cute, to a Brit..TWEE

In the UK, something “twee” is cutesy or overly nice. “Twee” came from “tweet”, which is the cutesy, baby-talk way of saying “sweet”.

10…Source of much website revenue..ADS

I wish …

13…BART stop, e.g…STA

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) serves the San Francisco Bay Area.

20…Revolutionary Guevara..CHE

Ernesto “Che” Guevara was born in Argentina, and in 1948 he started to study medicine at the University of Buenos Aires. While at school he satisfied his need to “see the world” by taking two long journeys around South America, the story of which are told in Guevara’s memoir later published as “The Motorcycle Diaries”. While travelling, Guevara was moved by the plight of the people he saw and their working conditions and what he viewed as capitalistic exploitation. In Mexico City he met brothers Raul and Fidel Castro and was persuaded to join their cause, the overthrow of the US-backed government in Cuba. He rose to second-in-command among the Cuban insurgents, and when Castro came to power Guevara was influential in repelling the Bay of Pigs Invasion and bringing Soviet nuclear missiles to the island. Guevara left Cuba in 1965 to continue his work as a revolutionary. He was captured by Bolivian forces in 1967, and was executed. Fidel Castro led the public mourning of Guevara’s death, and soon the revolutionary was an icon for many left-wing movements around the world.

26…Dressing holder..CRUET

A cruet is a small glass bottle for holding a condiment or perhaps a dressing. The word “cruet” comes from the Old French word for an earthen pot.

27…Kind of tackle made illegal in the NFL in 2005..HORSE-COLLAR (giving “high horse”)

In football, a horse-collar tackle is a now-illegal move in which the tackling player pulls down on the back of the collar of his opponent, using his weight to drag the player to the ground.

28…Hall of Famer Slaughter..ENOS

Enos Slaughter has a remarkable playing record in Major League Baseball over a 19-year career. Slaughter’s record is particularly remarkable given that he left baseball for three years to serve in the military during WWII.

31…Cartoon bird that first appeared in “Fast and Furry-ous”..ROAD RUNNER (giving “high road”)

Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner are two much-loved cartoon characters from Warner Bros. Wile E. Coyote was created first, and Road Runner was invented as someone for Wile E. to play off. I love this cartoon; definitely one of the best …

34…Fancy moldings..OGEES

An ogee is a type of S-curve. Specifically it is a figure consisting of two arcs that curve in opposite directions (like an S) but both ends of the curve end up parallel to each other (which is not necessarily true for an S). An ogee arch is composed of two ogees, with one being the mirror of the other and meeting at the arch’s apex.

38…Volkswagen rival..OPEL

Adam Opel founded his company in 1863, first making sewing machines in a cowshed. Commercial success brought new premises and a new product line in 1886, namely penny-farthing bicycles. Adam Opel died in 1895, leaving his two sons with a company that made more penny-farthings and sewing machines than any other company in the world. In 1899 the two sons partnered with a locksmith and started to make cars, but not very successfully. Two years later, the locksmith was dropped in favor of a licensing arrangement with a French car company. By 1914, Opel was the largest manufacturer of automobiles in Germany. My Dad had an Opel in the seventies, a station wagon (we’d say “estate car” in Ireland) called an Opel Kadett.

54…Luigi’s lucky number?..SETTE

“Sette” is a Italian for “seven”.

59…Zimbabwe neighbor: Abbr…RSA

The Republic of South Africa (RSA) has eleven official languages, a number that is only exceeded by Bolivia (38) and India (22). Included in the list of official languages of South Africa are Afrikaans, English, Swazi and Zulu.

The country now known as Zimbabwe started out as a British colony called Southern Rhodesia, and later just “Rhodesia”. The original colony was named for Cecil Rhodes, the British empire builder.

60…Non-Rx..OTC

Over-the-counter drugs (OTC) don’t need a prescription (Rx).

62…Olympics skater Midori..ITO

Midori Ito is a Japanese figure skater. Ito was the first woman to land a triple/triple jump and a triple axel in competition. In fact she landed her first triple jump in training when she was only 8 years old …

63…Neruda wrote one to salt..ODE

Pablo Neruda was the pen name, and eventually the legal name, used by Chilean writer Neftali Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. Basoalto chose the name as a homage to Czech poet Jan Neruda.

Return to top of page

Complete List of Clues and Answers

Across

1…Dropped the ball..ERRED

6…Pantry pest..ANT

9…Puts in a cooler..JAILS

14…Successor of Pope John X..LEO VI

15…Like many indie films..LOW-BUDGET

17…”You Be __”: 1986 Run-D.M.C. hit..ILLIN’

18…Dr. Brown’s classic drink..CREAM SODA

19…Pasadena institute..CALTECH

21…Mysterious power..ESP

22…Slush Puppie maker..ICEE

23…Little snicker..HEH

25…Cries out for calamine..ITCHES

30…Three times, in an Rx..TER

31…Notes after do..RE MI

32…Prefix for “time”..CHRONO-

33…__-wop music..DOO

35…Starting device: Abbr…IGN

37…Belgian banknotes..EUROS

38…Speedmaster watchmaker..OMEGA

40…__ Na Na..SHA

41…Gypsum painting surface..GESSO

42…Whittled..PARED

43…President pro __..TEM

44…Salt Lake City collegian..UTE

45…Remains in the fire?..EMBERS

47…Wolfgang’s veto..NEIN

49…Baseball uniform part..CAP

52…Doesn’t go for the green, in golf..LAYS UP

53…U.K. military award..DSO

54…Buckwheat noodle..SOBA

55…Earn after taxes..NET

57…”I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” autobiographer Maya..ANGELOU

59…Writer of medical thrillers..ROBIN COOK

64…Book with interstates..ATLAS

65…Like California, to a Hawaiian..STATESIDE

66…Gape..STARE

67…One in a cast..ACTOR

68…WKRP’s Nessman..LES

69…Pasture groups..HERDS

Down

1…Draw out..ELICIT

2…Tighten, as sneakers..RELACE

3…Contact skating sport..ROLLER DERBY (giving “high roller”)

4…Party-planning site..EVITE

5…Use the good china, say..DINE

6…Lead-into-gold practitioner..ALCHEMIST

7…Negative connector..NOR

8…Overly cute, to a Brit..TWEE

9…Act too quickly..JUMP THE GUN (giving “high jump”)

10…Source of much website revenue..ADS

11…”Need __ on?”..I GO

12…Had no one to catch..LED

13…BART stop, e.g…STA

16…Rudimentary..BASIC

20…Revolutionary Guevara..CHE

24…Top-of-the-line, and what each of the four longest puzzle answers begins with?..HIGH-END

26…Dressing holder..CRUET

27…Kind of tackle made illegal in the NFL in 2005..HORSE-COLLAR (giving “high horse”)

28…Hall of Famer Slaughter..ENOS

29…Only fair..SO-SO

31…Cartoon bird that first appeared in “Fast and Furry-ous”..ROAD RUNNER (giving “high road”)

34…Fancy moldings..OGEES

36…Some first-born children..NAMESAKES

38…Volkswagen rival..OPEL

39…Doll’s cry..MAMA!

46…Short job details?..SPECS

48…Electrified particle..ION

50…On the train..ABOARD

51…Stops to think, say..PAUSES

54…Luigi’s lucky number?..SETTE

56…Work very hard..TOIL

58…Deep cut..GASH

59…Zimbabwe neighbor: Abbr…RSA

60…Non-Rx..OTC

61…Night flier..BAT

62…Olympics skater Midori..ITO

63…Neruda wrote one to salt..ODE




Return to top of page

9 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword Answers 20 Jul 16, Wednesday”

  1. This challenged me a little more than some other Wednesdays. The theme was the last clue I figured out with HEH, RAMI, and DSO not helping much. GESSO was new to me. Sounds like something I do a lot of in crosswords..

    @Carrie
    Agree with you about Ese Beso.
    Also legend has it that Opie Taylor was named after Opie Cates, a bandleader back in the 40’s. Andy Griffith and his producer Sheldon Leonard were apparently big fans of his. As far as anyone knows, Opie was Cates’ real first name too. Then if you really want to come full circle back to this puzzle….Sheldon Cooper and Leonard Hofstadter, the characters in “The Big Bang Theory” Bill mentions, were NAMESAKES for Sheldon Leonard the long time producer of The Andy Griffith Show (among others)…and yes they work at CAL TECH…

    Best –

  2. I liked the puzzle and had a very good time with it, considering it is a Wednesday. The long answers were quite easy to comprehend.

    Jeff, I cam across gesso, when reading about Michelangelos and Da Vinci’s painting styles. I think the mixture also involved egg whites. Also in the movie,’ The Agony and the Ecstasy’, again about Michelangelo.

    Sfingi, from yesterday, I am surprised you didn’t know CC Burnickel was a woman. CC is anglicized for Zhouquin ( I think -).

    Have a nice day, all.

  3. I must be losing my touch here. :11 There has to be a better clue for IGN, ditto with IGO. A decent grid with some space to move around, marred by bad short fillers.

  4. My favorite Les Nessman bit from WKRP was where he was not allowed to have an office, and so constructed an imaginary wall and door which he made everyone knock on before entering his invisible office to talk. To those of us in cubicles that really hit home 🙂

    Puzzle was just right for a Wed. IGO and IGN had to be backed into, but otherwise a good grid.

  5. A little slower for a Wednesday and even had one error ExITE, which seemed reasonable but I guess that would mean a lotta LEOs.

    Re IGN “…Prior to the use of ignition keys, vehicles had both an ignition on/off switch and a starter button.” We must be regressing, since my new car is back to a starter button, but you have to have the fob – or what ever it’s called – with you.

  6. Hey wassup y’all? Fond greetings!
    Hey Jeff, interesting — and I remember hearing that about Sheldon (and) Leonard. Cute!
    I have a friend who’s a physicist at Cal Tech. I think his wife and I should put our heads together and decide which “Big Bang” nerd he is most like! Reminds me of gals identifying with one of the four “Sex And the City” women. Anyone else remember seeing T shirts that said “I’m a Charlotte!” or “I’m a Samantha!”
    (FWIW, I myself am equal parts Carrie and Miranda….I think I’ve said that here before…)
    I got thru this puzzle without too much trouble. Didn’t know HORSE COLLAR, and I hope no one ever does that to me.
    When I see a Pope clue, I generally figure it’ll be LEO something. Wonder if my tablet has a little Pope emoji I can add here? Probably not…

    Be well~~™?

Comments are closed.