LA Times Crossword Answers 4 Jul 15, Saturday

Happy July 4th, everyone!!!

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Alan Olschwang
THEME: None
BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 16m 48s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Washington music festival named for a legend SASQUATCH
The Sasquatch! Music Festival has been taking place annually since 2002 near George, Washington at the remote Gorge Amphitheatre. Most of the acts performing are indie rock bands and singer-songwriters. Entertainment is provided at five stages:

– Sasquatch! Main Stage
– Bigfoot Stage
– Banana Shack
– Yeti Stage
– Maine Stage

10. Prima __ case FACIE
“Prima facie” is Latin for “first encounter” or “at first sight”. In the world of the law, a prima facie case is one in which the evidence is deemed to be sufficient for a judgment to be made unless the evidence is contested.

16. Old Bristol-Myers dental product IPANA
Ipana toothpaste was introduced in 1915 and was at the height of its popularity in the forties and fifties. Sales declined in the sixties and the product was withdrawn from the US market in the seventies. Bucky the Beaver was the “spokesman” for Ipana. Bucky the Beaver’s slogan was “Brusha… Brusha… Brusha. Get the New Ipana – it’s dandy for your teeth!”

18. __ panel SOLAR
Solar panels make use of what’s known as the photovoltaic effect. We are more likely to have learned about the photoelectric effect in school, in which electrons were ejected from the surface of some materials when it was exposed to light or other forms of radiation. The photovoltaic effect is related but different. Instead of being electrons ejected from the surface, in the photovoltaic effect electrons move around in the material creating a difference in voltage.

19. Autocrats of old TSARS
The term czar (also tsar) is a Slavic word that was first used as a title by Simeon I of Bulgaria in 913 AD. “Czar” is derived from the word “Caesar”, which was synonymous with “emperor” at that time.

20. Sports radio host Patrick DAN
Dan Patrick is a sportscaster and radio personality. He is host of “The Dan Patrick Show” on the radio and is co-host of “Football Night in America” on NBC television.

21. Meteorological conditions CLIME
Clime is just another word for climate, as in the expression “in search of warmer climes”.

23. Indian silk-producing region ASSAM
Assam is a state in the very northeast of India, just south of the Himalayas. Assam is noted for its tea as well as its silk.

26. Remove chemically ELUTE
Elution is a technique that I used to employ many years ago when I worked as a biochemist. Elution is the extraction of one material from a mixture by washing it out with a solvent. Often this is done with the help of solid substance that adsorbs one material in the mixture so that the second, unadsorbed material can easily be dissolved and collected.

28. __ rod AARON’S
Aaron’s Rod is a nickname for a hairy biennial plant that grows to about 2m tall. It has another nickname: Cowboy’s Toilet Paper … which I don’t understand at all …

35. Bouvier __ Flandres: herding dog DES
The bouvier des Flandres is a herding dog that originated in Flanders in Belgium. The breed’s name translates from French as “cow herder of Flanders”. The breed very nearly died out during WWI due to the devastation of Flanders and the fact that the dogs were used by the military in the fighting.

36. Way of the East TAO
The name of the Chinese character “tao” translates as “path”, but the concept of Tao signifies the true nature of the world.

37. 1998 title role for Angelina GIA
Gia Carangi was a fashion model, often described as the world’s first supermodel. Carangi was from Philadelphia, and had her first modelling jobs appearing in newspaper ads. She started to abuse heroin in 1980, at 20 years of age. She contracted AIDS, and died at 26 years old. Carangi was one of the first famous women to succumb to the disease, in 1986. HBO made a biopic about Carangi’s life called “Gia” in 1998. Angelina Jolie plays the title role.

39. Code word DIT
Dahs and dits are the sound equivalents of dashes and dots in Morse code.

40. Traveler’s alternative HILTON HOTEL
Conrad Hilton was a native of New Mexico, but he bought his first hotel in Cisco, Texas, in 1919. He did well on the deal and opened up hotels all over Texas in the following years, and built the first high-rise Hilton Hotel in Dallas. Hilton went on to build the world’s first international hotel chain. Hilton was married three times, most famously to actress Zsa Zsa Gabor from 1942 to 1946.

46. Dispense, with “out” METE
To “mete out” is to distribute by allotments. The verb comes from the Old English word “metan” meaning “to measure”, which is also believed to be the root of our word “meter”.

47. “A Town Like Alice” novelist SHUTE
“A Town Like Alice” is a 1950 novel by British author Nevil Shute. Shute set his story in Australia, as he had just settled in the country. The “Alice” in the title is the Australian city of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory.

49. Title VII enforcer: Abbr. EEOC
Equal Opportunity Employment is a term that has been around since 1964 when the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was set up by the Civil Rights Act. Title VII of the Act prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin or religion.

55. Altar on high ARA
The constellation of Ara takes its name from the Latin word for “altar”.

56. Chevy Corvair option, briefly TURBO
A turbocharger is a device that is designed to extract more power out of an internal combustion engine. It does so by increasing the pressure of the air entering the intake. The pressure increase comes from the use of a compressor, which is cleverly powered by the engine’s own exhaust gases.

The Corvair is a compact car that was produced by Chevrolet from 1960 to 1969. The name “Corvair” is a melding of two earlier Chevy model names: Corvette and Bel Air.

57. __ Stone, winningest woman coach in college hockey KATEY
Katey Stone has been coaching the Harvard Crimson women’s hockey team since 1994. Stone has been women’s college hockey’s all-time winningest coach since 2010.

60. Eiffel Tower level ETAGE
In France, the ground floor (étage) of the house (la maison) isn’t called the first floor. It’s called the ground floor. The first floor is the floor above the ground floor.

The Exposition Universelle (World’s Fair) of 1900 was held in Paris, France. The 1900 fair is remembered for the magnificent entrance arch that was constructed for visitors. That entrance arch was to remain standing for only nine years, but the city decided to keep it and you can visit it today. Today we call that entrance arch the Eiffel Tower.

62. Curly-coated cats REXES
“Rex cat” is the name given to a number of different breeds. The common characteristic is that due to a genetic mutation, every rex cat has wavy or curly hair.

Down
2. Absinthe flavoring ANISE
Absinthe is an alcoholic spirit that is distilled from various plants and herbs, including “wormwood”. Absinthe was banned in the US in 1915 as it was deemed to be an addictive psychoactive drug. However, the accepted opinion today seems to be that absinthe is no more addictive or dangerous than any other spirit.

5. Carrier’s org. USPS
The US Postal Service (USPS) is a remarkable agency in many ways. For starters, the government’s right and responsibility to establish the Post Office is specifically called out in Article One of the US constitution. Also, the first postmaster general was none other than Benjamin Franklin. And the USPS operates over 200,000 vehicles, which is the largest vehicle fleet in the world.

6. A&P part: Abbr. ATL
The supermarket chain commonly known as A&P is more fully called the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company. The company started out selling tea directly from plantations in China in 1859, and by cutting out the middleman became very successful selling tea at lower prices. A&P moved into groceries, still with the philosophy of undercutting prices, building large stores and even getting into legal trouble for using predatory pricing tactics. The company completely dominated the retail grocery market until competition ate into their share starting in the seventies.

7. Fungus usually considered poisonous TOADSTOOL
“Toadstool” is an alternative name for a mushroom, although these days the term tends to be reserved for mushrooms that are poisonous.

8. Holders for holders? CD CASES
I guess the idea is that CD cases hold CDs, which in turn hold music.

9. Shenzi, Banzai or Ed, in “The Lion King” HYENA
Among the group of lions at the center of “The Lion King” story, young Simba is the heir apparent, the lion cub destined to take over as leader of the pride. His uncle is jealous of Simba, and plots with a trio of hyenas to kill Simba, so that he can take his position. The uncle was originally named Taka (according to books) but he was given the name Scar after being injured by a buffalo. The trio of hyenas are called Shenzi, Banzai and Ed.

10. Kind of yr. FISC
Fiscal year (fisc. yr.)

11. Like some nerve cells APOLAR
A nerve cell is more correctly called a neuron, and the long nerve fiber that is part of a neuron is called the axon. A neuron that has no definite axon is referred to as “apolar” or “nonpolar”. In apolar neurons the nerve impulses radiate in all directions.

12. Multicolored pet CALICO CAT
Domestic cats with a white coat and patches of brown and black are called calico cats in this country. Back in Ireland, and the rest of the world I think, such cats are called tortoiseshell-and-white. “Calico” is not a breed of cat, simply a coloring.

14. Sea lion, for one EARED SEAL
There are three families of seals. The first is the walrus family, the second the eared seals (like sea lions), and thirdly the earless seals.

23. Some domestic workers AU PAIRS
An “au pair” is a domestic assistant from a foreign country working and living as part of a host family. The term “au pair” is French, and means “on a par”, indicating that an au pair is treated as an equal in the host family.

24. Broadway offering MATINEE
“Matinée” is a French word used to describe a musical entertainment held during the daytime. “Matinée” is derived from the word “matin”, meaning “morning”, although here the term is used in the sense of “daylight”. Theater performances in the US tend to be either in the evening (for the night owls) or in matinees in the afternoon (for “the early-to-bed crowd”, of which I am a member).

27. Infernal flower? LETHE
A “flower” is a river, water that “flows”.

The Lethe is one of the five rivers of Hades in Greek mythology. All the souls who drank from the river Lethe experienced complete forgetfulness. The Greek word “lethe” means “oblivion, forgetfulness”.

29. Kirin competitor ASAHI
Asahi is a beer, and the name of the brewery that produces it. “Asahi” is Japanese for “morning sun”. Asahi introduced a “dry beer” in 1987, igniting a craze that rocketed the brewery to the number one spot in terms of beer production in Japan, with Sapporo close behind.

Kirin lager is the oldest brand of beer in Japan. The “Kirin” name comes from the Japanese word for a mythical Chinese creature.

30. One working on lines ODDSMAKER
An oddsmaker is the person who calculates the likelihood of a particular outcome of a contest, mainly for the purposes of betting.

41. Bullish TAURINE
“Taurine” is an adjective meaning of or relating to a bull. “Taurus” is Latin for “bull”.

44. Back out RENEGE
To renege on something is to back out of it. It’s a word commonly used in card games like bridge and whist. A renege is when a player doesn’t follow suit, even though there may be a card of the suit led in his/her hand.

48. “… tell’st me where thou __ this ring”: Shak. HADST
“Unless thou tell’st me where thou hadst this ring,/Thou diest within this hour.” are two lines from William Shakespeare’s play “All’s Well That Ends Well”.

51. Mellow winds OBOES
The oboe is perhaps my favorite of the reed instruments. The name “oboe” comes from the French “hautbois” which means “high wood”. When you hear an orchestra tuning before a performance you’ll note (pun intended!) that the oboe starts off the process by playing an “A”. The rest of the musicians in turn tune to that oboe’s “A”. Oh, and if you want to read a fun book (almost an “exposé”) about life playing the oboe, you might try “Mozart in the Jungle” by oboist Blair Tindall. The book has been adapted into a television series made by Amazon.com.

56. Newcastle’s river TYNE
The River Tyne is in the northeast of England. The most famous city on the river is Newcastle upon Tyne. Newcastle upon Tyne in the North of England is home to the famous Newcastle Brown Ale.

59. Current “American Dad!” airer TBS
The tbs cable television station started out in 1967 as local broadcast TV station in Atlanta. The station’s first call letters were WJRJ-TV, and this was changed to WTCG in 1970 when it was acquired by Ted Turner (the TCG stood for Turner Communications Group). In 1976, Turner started distributing WTCG via satellite making its programming available in other parts of the country. WTCG was only the second channel to transmit via satellite, following HBO. The difference was that WTCG was broadcast without requiring a premium subscription. The station’s call sign was changed again in 1979, to WTBS, and in 1981 adopted the moniker “Superstation WTBS”.

“American Dad!” is an adult-oriented animated sitcom. Famously, one of the show’s creators is Seth MacFarlane, who also created “Family Guy”. I cannot stand either show …

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Washington music festival named for a legend SASQUATCH
10. Prima __ case FACIE
15. Apprehended IN CUSTODY
16. Old Bristol-Myers dental product IPANA
17. Hot spot FIREPLACE
18. __ panel SOLAR
19. Autocrats of old TSARS
20. Sports radio host Patrick DAN
21. Meteorological conditions CLIME
22. Finalist-to-be’s hurdle SEMI
23. Indian silk-producing region ASSAM
25. Biting ACID
26. Remove chemically ELUTE
28. __ rod AARON’S
30. Miner matters ORE DEPOSITS
34. Slamming door, perhaps CUE
35. Bouvier __ Flandres: herding dog DES
36. Way of the East TAO
37. 1998 title role for Angelina GIA
38. __ loss AT A
39. Code word DIT
40. Traveler’s alternative HILTON HOTEL
43. Unsettling sort STARER
45. Ordered room service, e.g. ATE IN
46. Dispense, with “out” METE
47. “A Town Like Alice” novelist SHUTE
49. Title VII enforcer: Abbr. EEOC
53. Where the action is ARENA
55. Altar on high ARA
56. Chevy Corvair option, briefly TURBO
57. __ Stone, winningest woman coach in college hockey KATEY
58. Unsportsmanlike conduct DIRTY POOL
60. Eiffel Tower level ETAGE
61. Like some pliers SNUB-NOSED
62. Curly-coated cats REXES
63. Masseur’s concern TENSENESS

Down
1. Scrutinizes SIFTS
2. Absinthe flavoring ANISE
3. “Git!” SCRAM!
4. Asked QUERIED
5. Carrier’s org. USPS
6. A&P part: Abbr. ATL
7. Fungus usually considered poisonous TOADSTOOL
8. Holders for holders? CD CASES
9. Shenzi, Banzai or Ed, in “The Lion King” HYENA
10. Kind of yr. FISC
11. Like some nerve cells APOLAR
12. Multicolored pet CALICO CAT
13. Words betraying lack of readiness IN A MINUTE
14. Sea lion, for one EARED SEAL
23. Some domestic workers AU PAIRS
24. Broadway offering MATINEE
27. Infernal flower? LETHE
29. Kirin competitor ASAHI
30. One working on lines ODDSMAKER
31. Continue to stress REITERATE
32. Heir’s headache, maybe ESTATE TAX
33. Words before taking off I GOTTA RUN
41. Bullish TAURINE
42. Slightly ahead of ONE UP ON
44. Back out RENEGE
48. “… tell’st me where thou __ this ring”: Shak. HADST
50. Irregularly notched EROSE
51. Mellow winds OBOES
52. They’re easily caught COLDS
54. All those in favor AYES
56. Newcastle’s river TYNE
59. Current “American Dad!” airer TBS

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5 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword Answers 4 Jul 15, Saturday”

  1. Good morning everyone,

    Got my butt kicked on this one.
    Had Mold spore for 7D and Estate Law
    for 32D and wouldn't let go of them.

    The only Snub nose I know of comes in
    size "38" so that didn't help any.

    For 1A was looking for a music legend name.
    Oh well.

    Have a great and safe Fourth all!

  2. Out on this puzzle pretty quick with three errors. Again saw I had more than I thought (and those three I shouldn't have), but again nothing to go on. Having no luck with finishing the Sunday puzzle either, so until Monday and have a happy and safe whatever it is you're going to do today!

  3. A clean (but triple Bill's time to do it!) solve. I'm tickled anytime a puzzle constructor can work "Sasquatch" into the grid.

    Rough night for the older dog who definitely does NOT like loud booms coming from fireworks outside. If he could get any closer to me we would have merged into one half human half poodle being.

    Safe and sane 4th of July to all my crossword loving compatriots out there. See you all right back here on Monday.

  4. I don't get "Holders for holders?" AT ALL.
    Nor "Biting"- ACID
    Who would know SASQUATCH was a music festival?
    I'm just not having fun on Saturdays.
    4th of July parade right down the block from us. Former crazy neighbor assumed she could park in our driveway.
    Told her no.
    (She and her party of 4 came into a place where I was playing and singing. Sat right in front and were loud and obnoxious all night. She's really not all there.)
    Enjoy the day, everyone!

  5. Yet another way to clue the ubiquitous OBOES!
    @Pookie, I think ACID is referring to a person's tone, like "acid tongue" = biting (sarcastic) comment.
    I don't like TAURINE. Irritating clue.
    It's 2 a.m. in LA and the fireworks have finally died down.
    Enjoy your Sunday, all!

Comments are closed.