LA Times Crossword Answers 4 May 17, Thursday










Constructed by: Craig Stowe

Edited by: Rich Norris

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

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Theme: Swap Meet

Today’s themed answers each contain the letter string MEET, but those letters have been SWAPPED around, jumbled:

  • 61A. Collectors’ event, and a hint to what’s hidden in the answers to starred clues : SWAP MEET
  • 18A. *”Thinking … ” : LET ME SEE …
  • 20A. *Shakespeare play set on an enchanted island : THE TEMPEST
  • 32A. *Busker’s performance, perhaps : STREET MAGIC
  • 42A. *They may be crowned : WISDOM TEETH
  • 57A. *Proven longterm : TIME-TESTED

Bill’s time: 8m 37s

Bill’s errors: 0




Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies

Across

7. Monte Mario’s city : ROMA

Monte Mario is the highest hill in Rome, although it isn’t one of the “Seven Hills of Rome”. That’s because Monte Mario lies outside the boundaries of the ancient city.

11. Gravy, on menus : JUS

The French term “au jus” is usually translated as “with it’s own juice”.

15. Somber notice : OBIT

“Obituary” comes from the Latin “obituaris”, originally the record of the death of a person, although the literal meaning is “pertaining to death”.

16. German direction : OST

“Ost” is German for “east”.

20. *Shakespeare play set on an enchanted island : THE TEMPEST

William Shakespeare’s play “The Tempest” tells the story of Prospero, who was removed from the throne of Milan and banished to a deserted island along with his daughter Miranda. The island is home to a devilish character called Caliban, who is forced into slavery on the arrival of the exiles. Prospero learns sorcery while cast away, and eventually conjures up a tempest that drives those who usurped his throne onto the island’s shores (in particular his own brother, Antonio). On the island, Prospero is eventually successful in revealing Antonio’s lowly nature.

25. Ancient Greek theater : ODEON

In Ancient Greece an odeon (also “odeum”) was like a small theater, with “odeon” literally meaning a “building for musical competition”. Odea were used in both Greece and Rome for entertainments such as musical shows and poetry readings.

26. “Thought I should share,” briefly : FYI

For your information (FYI)

31. Candy heart word : LUV

The forerunner to Sweethearts candy was introduced in 1866, with the famous sayings written on the candy tailored for use at weddings. One of the original expressions was, “Married in pink, he will take a drink”. The original candy was a lot bigger, to fit all those words! The smaller, heart-shaped candy hit the shelves in 1901. We’ve been able to buy Sweethearts with the words “Text me” since 2010.

32. *Busker’s performance, perhaps : STREET MAGIC

A busker is a street performer, a person entertaining passersby for tips. Some very successful people have spend periods of their lives busking. George Michael used to busk near the London Underground. Rod Stewart performed in the streets of Paris and Barcelona, and was eventually deported from Spain for vagrancy.

40. Vital circulation component : AORTA

The aorta originates in the heart and extends down into the abdomen. It is the largest artery in the body.

42. *They may be crowned : WISDOM TEETH

Wisdom teeth are an extra set of molars in the back of the jaws. There are usually four wisdom teeth, and they only occur in about 65% of the population.

45. __ Alamos : LOS

The town of Los Alamos, New Mexico takes its name from the Spanish for “the poplars” or “the cottonwoods”. Famously, it is home to Los Alamos National Laboratory which was founded during WWII to work on the Manhattan Project, the development of the first atomic bomb. The town of Los Alamos didn’t exist as such, until it was planned and constructed to support the employees working on development of the bomb.

46. “Forgot About __”: Grammy-winning duet featuring Eminem : DRE

Dr. Dre is the stage name of rapper Andre Romelle Young. Dr. Dre is known for his own singing career as well as for producing records and starting the careers of others such Snoop Dogg, Eminem and 50 Cent.

47. Actor Stephen : REA

Stephen Rea is an Irish actor from Belfast. Rea’s most successful role was Fergus in 1992’s “The Crying Game”, for which performance he was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar. In “The Crying Game”, Fergus was a member of the IRA. In real life, Rea was married to IRA bomber and hunger striker Dolours Price at the time he made the movie.

48. Army crawler : ANT

Army ants are a collection of over two hundred different species of ants. Each species is known for aggressively raiding a certain area en masse, foraging for food. Army ants also stay on the move, never building permanent nests.

49. Stale : PASSE

“Passé” is a French word, meaning “past, faded”.

56. Classic “You as well?” : ET TU?

It was Shakespeare who popularized the words “Et tu, Brute?” (And you, Brutus?), in his play “Julius Caesar”, although the phrase had been around long before he penned his drama. It’s not known what Julius Caesar actually said in real life just before he was assassinated on the steps of the Senate in Rome.

65. First name at Woodstock : ARLO

Arlo Guthrie is the son of Woody Guthrie. Both father and son are renowned for their singing of protest songs about social injustice. Arlo is most famous for his epic “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree”, a song that lasts a full 18m 34s. In the song Guthrie tells how, after being drafted, he was rejected for service in the Vietnam War based on his criminal record. He had only one incident on his public record, a Thanksgiving Day arrest for littering and being a public nuisance when he was 18-years-old.

1969’s Woodstock Music & Art Fair was held on a dairy farm located 43 miles southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York. 400,000 young people attended, and saw 32 bands and singers perform over three days.

66. Canadian coin : TOONIE

“Toonie” is the familiar name for a two-dollar coin in Canada. A kind blog reader pointed out that the one-dollar bill was replaced with the “loonie” coin, a nickname that comes from the “loon” bird that is on one side of the coin.

68. First queen of Carthage : DIDO

Dido was the founder of Carthage, and the city’s first queen.

69. Performer with 20 Oscar nominations : STREEP

Meryl Streep has had more nominations for an Academy Award than any other actor, which is a tribute to her talent and the respect she has earned in the industry. I am not a huge fan of her earlier works but some of her recent movies are now on my list of all-time favorites. I recommend “Mamma Mia!” (you’ll either love it or hate it!), “Julie & Julia”, “It’s Complicated” and ”Hope Springs”.

Down

2. Many a black-clad teen : GOTH

The goth subculture developed from the gothic rock scene in the early eighties, and is a derivative of the punk music movement. It started in England and spread to many countries around the globe. The term “goth” of course comes from the Eastern Germanic tribe called the Goths.

5. University officials : REGENTS

A regent is a member of the governing body of a university.

6. Ancient Dead Sea kingdom : EDOM

Edom is an ancient Iron Age kingdom located in the south of modern-day Jordan. The area is known for its red-colored sandstone, which gave the kingdom its name. The Hebrew word “Edom” translates as “red”.

7. Swiss luxury brand : ROLEX

My most prized possession is a beautiful stainless steel Rolex watch that my uncle bought while serving with the RAF in Canada during WWII. Rolex watches were made available to the Canadian servicemen at that time as they were shipping overseas. My uncle brought his Rolex home to Ireland after the war. He needed money for booze one weekend and so sold the watch to my Dad, for five pounds. My Dad gave it to me just before he died, as he knew I loved the watch, and my brothers weren’t interested in it all. Not so long ago I had the watch appraised ($3,000), and my brothers suddenly took a liking to it! Still, it’s not something that will ever be sold, that’s for sure …

10. Bread machine? : ATM

One enters a Personal Identification Number (PIN) when using an Automated Teller Machine (ATM). Given that the N in PIN stands for “number”, then PIN number is a redundant phrase. And, given that the M in ATM stands for “machine”, then ATM machine is a redundant phrase as well. Grr …!

11. Leader of the animated Pussycats : JOSIE

“Josie and the Pussycats” is a comic book aimed at teens, published from 1963 to 1982. The title characters are an all-female rock band.

13. Dutch Golden Age artist : STEEN

Jan Steen was a Dutch painter active in the Dutch Golden Age, the 17th century. Steen’s most famous work is probably “The Feast of Saint Nicholas”, which you can see at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

25. Electrical unit : OHM

The unit of electrical resistance is the ohm (with the symbol omega) named after German physicist Georg Simon Ohm. Ohm was the guy who established experimentally that the amount of current flowing through a circuit is directly proportional to the voltage applied, (V=IR) a relationship that every schoolkid knows as Ohm’s Law.

27. Cosmonaut Gagarin : YURI

The Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space when his spacecraft Vostok I made a single orbit of the Earth in 1961. Sadly, Gagarin died only seven years later in a plane crash.

29. “… love hath made thee __ snake”: “As You Like It” : A TAME

As You Like It is one of Shakespeare’s comedies, the tale of Rosalind fleeing from her Uncle’s court along with her cousin Celia and the court jester Touchstone. Rosalind lives in exile in the Forest of Arden, disguised as a male shepherd called Ganymede. The play is perhaps most memorable for an oft-quoted monologue that starts with:

All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players …

35. Aspic-coated French chicken dish : GALANTINE

A galentine is a dish usually made with poultry or fish that has been deboned. A galentine is often elaborately decorated, partially because it’s a lot of work getting all those bones out and a fancy garnish isn’t that much extra work!

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49. “Casino” co-star : PESCI

Joe Pesci got his big break in movies with a supporting role in “Raging Bull” starring Robert De Niro, earning Pesci an Oscar nomination early in his career. There followed a string of gangster roles played alongside De Niro, namely “Once Upon a Time in America”, “Goodfellas” and “Casino”. But I like Pesci’s comedic acting best of all. He was marvelous in the “Home Alone” films, the “Lethal Weapon” series, and my personal favorite, “My Cousin Vinny”. Pesci gets a mention in the stage musical “Jersey Boys”, which isn’t too surprising as he is one of the show’s producers.

“Casino” is a 1995 Martin Scorsese film. One of the movie’s stars is Robert De Niro, someone who collaborated with Scorsese in eight films in all, “Casino” being the last. The Tangiers Hotel in the movie was actually the Stardust Resort and Casino, which operated in Las Vegas from 1958 until 2006.

57. Actress Hatcher : TERI

Teri Hatcher’s most famous role is the Susan Mayer character on the TV comedy-drama “Desperate Housewives”. I’ve never seen more than a few minutes of “Housewives” but I do know Teri Hatcher as a Bond girl, as she appeared in “Tomorrow Never Dies”. More recently, she portrayed Lois Lane on the show “Lois & Clark”.

59. Lackawanna’s lake : ERIE

Lackawanna is a city in New York State, located on Lake Erie. Lackawanna was in the news relatively recently with the arrest of the “Lackawanna Six” in 2002. The group of six Lackawanna residents were found guilty of providing “material support” to Al-Qaida.

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Complete List of Clues and Answers

Across

1. Overlook : IGNORE

7. Monte Mario’s city : ROMA

11. Gravy, on menus : JUS

14. At anchor : MOORED

15. Somber notice : OBIT

16. German direction : OST

17. “Proceed as planned” : IT’S A GO

18. *”Thinking … ” : LET ME SEE …

20. *Shakespeare play set on an enchanted island : THE TEMPEST

22. Period in ads : NITE

23. Lair : DEN

24. Bladed tool : AXE

25. Ancient Greek theater : ODEON

26. “Thought I should share,” briefly : FYI

28. Pit gunk : TAR

30. __-wolf : SHE

31. Candy heart word : LUV

32. *Busker’s performance, perhaps : STREET MAGIC

38. Specialty : AREA

40. Vital circulation component : AORTA

41. Provocative : RACY

42. *They may be crowned : WISDOM TEETH

45. __ Alamos : LOS

46. “Forgot About __”: Grammy-winning duet featuring Eminem : DRE

47. Actor Stephen : REA

48. Army crawler : ANT

49. Stale : PASSE

52. One in a cheering crowd : FAN

54. Moving wheels : VAN

56. Classic “You as well?” : ET TU?

57. *Proven longterm : TIME-TESTED

61. Collectors’ event, and a hint to what’s hidden in the answers to starred clues : SWAP MEET

63. Hot : ON FIRE

64. Wheels : CAR

65. First name at Woodstock : ARLO

66. Canadian coin : TOONIE

67. Tick off : IRE

68. First queen of Carthage : DIDO

69. Performer with 20 Oscar nominations : STREEP

Down

1. Tag line? : I’M IT

2. Many a black-clad teen : GOTH

3. Serious downturns : NOSEDIVES

4. Talk with style : ORATE

5. University officials : REGENTS

6. Ancient Dead Sea kingdom : EDOM

7. Swiss luxury brand : ROLEX

8. Quite heavy : OBESE

9. Baker’s protection : MITT

10. Bread machine? : ATM

11. Leader of the animated Pussycats : JOSIE

12. Was of __: helped : USE TO

13. Dutch Golden Age artist : STEEN

19. Make lovable : ENDEAR

21. Echo : PARROT

25. Electrical unit : OHM

26. Glitch : FLAW

27. Cosmonaut Gagarin : YURI

29. “… love hath made thee __ snake”: “As You Like It” : A TAME

30. Put into words : STATE

33. Poetic adverb : ERE

34. Endless, poetically : ETERNE

35. Aspic-coated French chicken dish : GALANTINE

36. Tappable image : ICON

37. Dermatologist’s concern : CYST

39. Accumulates : ADDS UP

43. Mine output : ORE

44. One without : HAVE-NOT

49. “Casino” co-star : PESCI

50. In conflict, seriously : AT WAR

51. Gawk : STARE

52. Specialty : FIELD

53. Defensive retort : AM TOO!

55. Concerning : AS FOR

57. Actress Hatcher : TERI

58. Wee ones : TOTS

59. Lackawanna’s lake : ERIE

60. Word with freeze or fry : DEEP

62. Ticked off : MAD

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14 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword Answers 4 May 17, Thursday”

  1. Easy by Thursday standards. This seemed like a very good Tuesday or Wednesday puzzle. Quick solve – right at 20 mins.

    Didn’t know the word busker before. I didn’t know EDOM either.
    Loved the movie “Casino”. I didn’t realize all that happened at the Stardust. Funny because in the movie they actually show The Stardust getting razed.

    I know I’m in the minority, but I never understood all of the ubiquitous Meryl Streep hero worship. She’s a good actress. I just don’t see her as other-worldly-wonderful like many do.

    Speaking of “toke”, I think Shakespeare was toking something when he wrote THE TEMPEST. I read it as a high school senior and never figured it out at the time. We even went and saw it performed locally as a class. All I remember is how bizarre Caliban looked. I think the performance was wasted on an 18 year old with senioritis…

    Best –

  2. I was sure “Toonie” was going to be wrong and I tried and tried to figure out some other letter that made sense, but finally left it alone. Lucky leave.

    Hope you all have a great day.

  3. I did not want to put in JUS. If I ordered something w/ gravy, I would be very surprised if I was given au jus.

    I’m going to ask my dentist husband how many wisdom teeth he’s crowned in over 30 yrs of general practice. I’m guessing fewer than 10.

  4. @Jeff
    A lot of who gets notice in Hollywood is often politically motivated or other things behind the scenes. I figure this is the case with Streep that she gets so much more notice than most.

    @Bella
    It depends on how they will come in. Personally, I had to have my back teeth pulled because my wisdom teeth came in almost directly behind them. Not sure how common something like that would be, but if you dealt with someone that had generally better dental health than me, I’m sure it wouldn’t have been out of the question to have them crowned.

    But seriously though, a lot of clues in crossword land are pretty weird to try to throw people, especially with late-week stuff, more than actually trying to be factually correct.

    Hope everyone is having a good day so far.

  5. My wife and I were .0005% of the “young” crowd at Woodstock in 1969. Unfortunately, didn’t get to hear Arlo, although heard some of the other 32 groups. It rained so hard and we had no food, so we left after the first day. Didn’t learn until later that there were 400,000 there. I think we were the only ones who bought tickets 🙂

  6. I had a good time with the puzzle, and was able to finish it with a lot of time. I enjoyed it very much. Thank you. Thank you Bill, for The Tempest info, and Jan Steen’s painting,’The Feast of St. Nick.’, which I read avidly about in Wiki. Very interesting.

    About Meryl Streep, she is definitely a good actress. I am actually watching her latest movie on DVD, ‘Florence Foster Jenkins’ 2016. It should be good. But, I don’t think she should venture into politics though – just my personal opinion. The side ads, that I see next to the puzzle, which claim she and Robert Redford (!) are going to tie the knot, is a hoax, click bait, and totally false. She is happily married. The ad is for some acne skin care cream (!)

    I didn’t know about Woodstock, until I saw the documentary movie about it. It was a real eye opener.

    I agree with Bella, I don’t think ‘au jus’ ( which I knew – ) is the same thing as ‘with gravy’.
    Regarding wisdom teeth, based on personal experience, and those of my good friends, a very unscientific survey at best , most wisdom teeth are pulled – eztracted , because they are impacted, and cause a crowding, and are rarely, if ever, useful – enough, to have to be crowned. Both my kids’ wisdom teeth ( 4 apiece) had to be pulled, and they cost atleast $1200 each patient, and, this, after we got a discount from the dental surgeon… Professional discount. Also my kids’ first experience with oxycodone.

    Have a nice day, all.

  7. TOONIE?
    All this time in crosswords it was referred to as LOONIE.
    They may be crowned?
    WISe……..?
    @Bella “I’m going to ask my dentist husband how many wisdom teeth he’s crowned in over 30 yrs of general practice. I’m guessing fewer than 10.”
    Please let us know the answer. I’m guessing NONE.
    Lousy clue.

  8. At dinner I checked w/ my in-house expert, and I was right. He thinks he’s done fewer than 10 crowns for 3rd molars over 30 yrs. He did once have a woman who had erupted 4th molars!
    Just abt the only reason for doing a $2000 crown on a 3rd molar is if that tooth is needed to anchor a bridge, and the tooth needs to be fully erupted to hold a crown.
    Prosthodontists would do more of them, they’re more likely to see the tougher cases.

    Good night, all.

  9. Easy for a Thursday. Didn’t know a couple things, but no problem. Didn’t notice theme.

    Agree with @Bella on both issues. I had a heck of the time with my wisdoms. One came in rotted! one had twisted roots. All had to be pulled. I imagine that a few hundred yrs ago some people died when they reared their ugly heads.

    Loonie and TOONIE are different coins, We’re close enough to Canada to get some of their coins by mistake. They have one idea we should copy – get rid of the penny!

  10. Did this puzzle at a leisurely pace, while selling my honey today. It was pretty busy and I only got about 2/3 filled in, until I got home and had a chance to give it my full attention.

    A lot of stuff I didn’t know, but managed it all with the help of crosses and, for once, the theme. Pretty fun and informative, along with the blog answers; thanks Bill.

    I also didn’t think wisdom teeth usually, if ever, get crowned. Really liked “Bread Machine” and “Classic: You as well.” and, as much as I like Arlo, I just can’t abide a litterbug, at least since I was a teen. A nuisance, OK.

  11. Hey folks!
    Nice puzzle,, and I agree that it was easy for a Thursday. Didn’t even notice the theme.
    Like Tony, I was unsure of that N in TOONIE, but it seemed the best choice.
    Piano Man! You were at Woodstock!? I believe I’ve only met about 2 people in my life with that distinction.
    Sometimes I think of busking to make ends meet– seriously. I play guitar and sing. ? I’d just have to find a corner where the passersby have low expectations– I ain’t that good…?
    Sweet dreams~~™???

  12. 11:01, no errors. And now I’ve done all the LAT puzzles I missed while I was on vacation! (But I still have a bunch of NYT puzzles to do … )

    The Canadian “loonie” is worth a dollar and is called that because a loon is depicted on one side of it. The Canadian two-dollar coin is called a “toonie” (because it’s worth two loonies, I think) …

    I had two perfectly good wisdom teeth (either in the upper jaw or the lower one – I can’t remember which), but the wisdom teeth in the other jaw never erupted, so all four had to come out (because the good ones, with nothing to work against, erupted too far and began damaging other teeth).

    And so to bed …

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