Constructed by: Mike Buckley
Edited by: Rich Norris
Quicklink to a complete list of today’s clues and answers
Quicklink to comments
Theme: Housebound
Today’s grid is HOUSEBOUND in that all of the answers around the BOUNDARY need the word HOUSE for completion:
- 30D…With 41-Across, quarantined, and a hint to completing 12 puzzle answers..HOUSE-
- 41A…See 30-Down..-BOUND
- 1A…Frequent flier’s respite..BIRD(HOUSE)
- 5A…Dressing room of a sort..CLUB(HOUSE)
- 9A…Proverbially exposed place..GLASS(HOUSE)
- 71A…Coastal attraction..LIGHT(HOUSE)
- 72A…Kids’ hideout..TREE(HOUSE)
- 73A…Where an inch may represent a foot..DOLL(HOUSE)
- 1D…Uninhibited jazz style..BARREL(HOUSE)
- 13D…Place of refuge..SAFE (HOUSE)
- 33D…The Twinings shop at 216 Strand in London, e.g….TEA(HOUSE)
- 38D…Zoo..MAD(HOUSE)
- 54D…1978 comedy classic..ANIMAL (HOUSE)
- 60D…Theater with no seats?..FULL (HOUSE)
Bill’s time: 9m 05s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
9…Proverbially exposed place..GLASS(HOUSE)
The old adage “People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones” is indeed “old”. A version of the phrase dates back at least to Geoffrey Chaucer who wrote in “Troilus and Criseyde” circa 1385:
Who that hath an hed of verre, Fro cast of stones war hym in the werre!
14…Trendy berry..ACAI
Açaí is a palm tree native to Central and South America. The fruit has become very popular in recent years and its juice is a very fashionable addition to juice mixes and smoothies.
15…Bausch + Lomb brand..RENU
ReNu is a brand name of contact lens products sold by Bausch & Lomb.
16…Missouri campus town..ROLLA
Rolla, Missouri is home to the Missouri University of Science and Technology, founded in 1858.
17…38-Across nickname..RED PLANET
(38A…Fourth of eight..MARS)
The surface of the planet Mars has a very high iron oxide content, so Mars is red because it is rusty!
19…__ Olay..OIL OF
Oil of Olay was developed in South Africa in 1949. When Oil of Olay was introduced internationally, it was given slightly different brand names designed to appeal in the different geographies. In Ireland we know it as Oil of Ulay, for example, and in France it is Oil of Olaz.
23…Strait’s “All My __ Live in Texas”..EX”S
“All My Ex’s Live in Texas” is a song released in 1987 by country singer George Strait.
George Strait is a country music singer, known as the “King of Country”. The moniker seems to be well deserved as Strait has had more number one hits on Billboard’s list of Hot Country Songs than any other artist.
24…Kindle downloads: Abbr…BKS
Amazon’s Kindle line of e-book readers was introduced in 2007. The name “kindle” was chosen to evoke images of “lighting a fire” through reading and intellectual stimulation. I bought myself a Kindle Fire HD not that long ago. I’ve started reading e-books for the first time in my life, as well as enjoying other computing options available with the tablet device. I love it …
26…Multipart opus..NONET
A nonet is a piece of music requiring nine musicians for a performance. The term is also used for the group itself.
27…”The Merry Widow” composer..LEHAR
“The Merry Widow” is an operetta composed by Franz Lehar. It is a comic piece about a rich widow and the attempts by her countrymen to marry her off in order to keep her fortune in the poverty-stricken Grand Duchy of Pontevedro. “The Merry Widow” was first performed in 1905 and has been popular ever since.
29…Leitmotif..THEME
A “leitmotif” in the world of music is a recurring musical phrase that is associated with a particular theme or perhaps a particular person. Common in classical works, leitmotifs are also frequently used in film music. A classic example would be the strident notes played every time Darth Vader appears on the screen in a “Star Wars” movie.
34…Author of epistolas..PAOLO
In Italian, “Paolo” (Paul) wrote a set of “epistolas” (epistles).
St. Paul the Apostle wrote thirteen epistles, all of which are found in the New Testament of the Bible (although authorship of some is disputed).
36…Girlfriend of Garfield..ARLENE
Arlene is a pink stray cat who is fond of the title character in the “Garfield” comic strip by Jim Davis. Garfield is pretty rude to Arlene though, and often makes fun of the gap in her teeth.
43…End for Louis..-IANA
The French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle claimed in the Mississippi River basin for France in 1682, he named it “La Louisiane” in honor of Louis XIV, who was King of France at that time.
49…First of 12..ARIES
Aries the Ram is the first astrological sign in the Zodiac, and is named after the constellation. Your birth sign is Aries if you were born between March 21 and April 20, but if you are an Aries you would know that! “Aries” is the Latin word for “ram”.
51…”__ español?”..HABLA
“Habla español?” is Spanish for “Do you speak Spanish?”
59…Hermione’s love..RON
Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger are the principal characters in the “Harry Potter” series of fantasy novels by J. K. Rowling.
63…Michener’s “The Bridges at __”..TOKO-RI
“The Bridges at Toko-Ri” is James A. Michener novella about American pilots on a mission to destroy bridges during the Korean War. The book was made into a 1954 film of the same name starring William Holden and Grace Kelly. I put “The Bridges of Toko-Ri” high on my list of recommended war movies, if anyone’s interested …
66…Appealing to prejudice rather than intellect, as an argument..AD HOMINEM
Ad hominem arguments appeal to personal beliefs and/or emotions rather than to logic or reason. The phrase “ad hominem” is Latin meaning “to the man”, indicating that the appeal is to the person with whom one is debating or whom one is trying to influence.
68…Large green moths..LUNAS
The lime-green Luna Moth is one of the largest moths found in North America, growing to a wingspan of up to 4½ inches.
69…Masked critter..COON
The raccoon is native to North America. In captivity, raccoons can live to over 20 years of age, but in the wild they only live two or three years. The main causes for the shorter lifespan are hunting and road traffic.
70…March Madness initials..NCAA
March Madness is the name given to the NCAA Men’s Division 1 Basketball Championship (among others), held in spring each year.
Down
1…Uninhibited jazz style..BARREL(HOUSE)
Barrelhouse is style of jazz that strongly features a wild, improvised piano part. The style is an early form of the genre, named for the cheap saloons common in the early 1900s. A “barrelhouse” was so called because of the racks of liquor barrels that would line the walls of the establishment.
4…Tango moves..DIPS
The dramatic dance called the tango originated in the late 1800s in the area along the border between Argentina and Uruguay.
5…Original Model T need..CRANK
The Ford Model T was the first really affordable car that was offered for sale, and it was produced from 1908 to 1927. It was the Model T that ushered in the era of assembly line production, which greatly cut down the cost of manufacture. The Model T’s engine was designed to run on petrol, kerosene or ethanol. Ford stated in 1909 that “Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black”. In actual fact, from 1908 through 1913, the Model T wasn’t available in black, and only grey, green, blue and red. The “black only” strategy applied from 1914.
6…Writer Deighton..LEN
I used to walk my dog right past author Len Deighton’s house years ago, as we lived in the same village in Ireland (probably my only claim to fame!). Deighton wrote the excellent espionage thriller “The IPCRESS File”, made into a 1965 movie starring Michael Caine.
7…Arles articles..UNES
“Une” is the French word for “a”, but only when used with a feminine noun (like “une dame”: a lady).
Quite a few years ago now, I had the privilege of living just a short car-ride from the beautiful city of Arles in the South of France. Although Arles has a long and colorful history, the Romans had a prevailing influence over the city’s design. Arles has a spectacular Roman amphitheater, arch, circus as well as old walls that surround the center of the city. In more modern times, it was a place Vincent van Gogh often visited, and where he painted his famous “Cafe Terrace at Night”, as well as “Bedroom in Arles”.
8…Hydrocarbon obtained from crude oil..BUTENE
Butene (different from “butane”) is also known as butylene. One of the major uses of butylene is in the production of synthetic rubber.
9…”Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?,” e.g…GROANER
Ivan Pavlov was studying gastric function in dogs in the 1890s when he observed that his subject dogs started to salivate before he even presented food to them. This “psychic secretion”, as he called it, interested him so much that he changed the direction of his research and studied the reactions of dogs to various stimuli that were associated with the presentation of food. Famously, he discovered that a dog could be conditioned to respond as though he was about to be fed, just by sensing some stimulus that he had come to associate with food. This might be a bell ringing, an electric shock (poor dog!) or perhaps the waving of a hand. Nowadays we might describe someone as “Pavlov’s Dog” if that person responds just the way he/she has been conditioned to respond, rather than applying critical thinking.
10…French wine valley..LOIRE
The Loire is the longest river in France. It is so long that it drains one-fifth of the nation’s land mass. The Loire rises in the southeast, in the Cevennes mountain range, then heads north and then due west, emptying into the Bay of Biscay at the city of Nantes. The Loire Valley is home to some of France’s most famous wine production, and includes the wine regions of Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé and Muscadet.
18…First sign of fall..LIBRA
The constellation of Libra is named for the scales held by the goddess of justice. Libra is the only sign of the zodiac that isn’t named for a living creature.
22…Hairstyling stuff..POMADE
Pomade is perfumed ointment, mainly used for grooming the hair. The word “pomade” is derived from the Latin “pomum” meaning “apple”, as the original ointment recipe used smashed apples.
25…1944 French battle site..ST LO
Saint-Lô is a town in Normandy that was occupied by Germany in 1940. Saint-Lo stood at a strategic crossroads and so there was intense fighting there during the Normandy invasion of 1944. After a prolonged bombardment, very little of the town was left standing.
28…Choir recess..APSE
The apse of a church or cathedral is a semicircular recess in an outer wall, usually with a half-dome as a roof and often where there resides an altar. Originally apses were used as burial places for the clergy and also for storage of important relics.
30…With 41-Across, quarantined, and a hint to completing 12 puzzle answers..HOUSE-
(41A…See 30-Down..-BOUND)
The original use of our word “quarantine” back in the 1500s was as a legal term. A quarantine was the 40 days in which a widow had the legal right to reside in her dead husband’s house.
32…B&B, maybe..INN
An intimate inn (in the US) is a bed & breakfast (B&B). A bed & breakfast back in Ireland is more basic, and is almost always much cheaper than a comparable hotel room.
33…The Twinings shop at 216 Strand in London, e.g….TEA(HOUSE)
Twinings is a distributor of tea that was founded in England in 1706. That’s a long time ago! The Twinings logo is the oldest continuously-used logo in the world. The first Twinings shop opened on the Strand in London, also in 1706.
35…Titania’s husband..OBERON
Oberon and Titania are the King and Queen of the fairies in Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”.
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is one of William Shakespeare’s comedies. One of the interesting characteristics of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is that it features a play-within-a-play. The cast of characters includes an troupe of six actors called the Mechanicals who perform a play called “Pyramus and Thisbe”.
37…Sax-playing Simpson..LISA
Lisa Simpson is Bart’s brainy younger sister on TV’s “The Simpsons”. Lisa is voiced by actress Yeardley Smith.
39…Tailless simian..APE
“Simian” means “pertaining to monkeys or apes”, from the Latin word “simia” meaning “ape”.
40…Big name in traveling shows..RINGLING
The Ringling Brothers started their circus in 1884 when Barnum & Bailey already had a popular circus that was touring the Midwest. There were six Ringling Brothers in all, and they grew their business at a phenomenal rate. The circus moved from town-to-town by train, extending their reach to the eastern seaboard. So great was their success that the Ringling Brothers purchased the Barnum & Bailey operation in 1907.
47…__ Penh..PHNOM
Phnom Penh (also “Pnom Penh”) is the capital of Cambodia, and has been so since the French colonized the country in the late 1800s. The city’s name translates from the Khmer language as “Hill of Penh”.
52…Super Bowl 50 champ..BRONCO
The 2015-season Super Bowl was played on 7th February 2016, with the Denver Broncos emerging victorious over the Carolina Panthers. Tradition dictates that Super Bowls are numbered using Roman numerals, which would have resulted in the name “Super Bowl L”. It was decided to temporarily drop the Roman numerals and go with “Super Bowl 50” instead.
53…”Because you’re worth it” brand..L’OREAL
L’Oréal is a French cosmetics company, the largest cosmetics and beauty company in the world. Here in the US, L’Oréal runs a “Women of Worth” program that honors women who volunteer in their communities. The phrase “Women of Worth” underlines the longstanding L’Oréal slogan “Because I’m worth it”, which evolved into “Because you’re worth it” and eventually “Because we’re worth it”.
54…1978 comedy classic..ANIMAL (HOUSE)
The very funny 1978 movie “Animal House” has the prefix “National Lampoon’s …” because the storyline came out of tales that had already appeared in “National Lampoon” magazine. “Animal House” was to become the first in a long line of successful “National Lampoon” films. The main pledges in the movie are Tom Hulce (Pinto), who later played a magnificent “Amadeus”, and Stephen Furst (Flounder), later played a regular role on television’s “Babylon 5”.
56…Islamic deity..ALLAH
The name “Allah” comes from the Arabic “al-” and “ilah”, meaning “the” and “deity”. So “Allah” translates as “God”.
61…Case for notions..ETUI
An etui is an ornamental case used to hold small items, in particular sewing needles. We imported both the case design and the word “etui” from France. The French also have a modern usage of “etui”, using the term to depict a case for carrying CDs.
“Notions” are miscellaneous items, especially the likes of needles, buttons and thread.
62…Follower of Pepé Le Pew?..ODOR
Pepé Le Pew is a very likeable cartoon character from the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series. Pepé is a French skunk, first introduced way back in 1945. He is always thinking of “l’amour” and chases the lady skunks, or a black cat with a white stripe painted down her back accidently.
Complete List of Clues and Answers
Across
1…Frequent flier’s respite..BIRD(HOUSE)
5…Dressing room of a sort..CLUB(HOUSE)
9…Proverbially exposed place..GLASS(HOUSE)
14…Trendy berry..ACAI
15…Bausch + Lomb brand..RENU
16…Missouri campus town..ROLLA
17…38-Across nickname..RED PLANET
19…__ Olay..OIL OF
20…Bread flavoring..RAISIN
21…Stand between..SEPARATE
23…Strait’s “All My __ Live in Texas”..EX”S
24…Kindle downloads: Abbr…BKS
26…Multipart opus..NONET
27…”The Merry Widow” composer..LEHAR
29…Leitmotif..THEME
31…Park it..SIT
34…Author of epistolas..PAOLO
36…Girlfriend of Garfield..ARLENE
38…Fourth of eight..MARS
41…See 30-Down..-BOUND
43…End for Louis..-IANA
44…Singly..APIECE
46…Percolates..SEEPS
48…Home in the woods..DEN
49…First of 12..ARIES
51…”__ español?”..HABLA
55…Be unable to swallow..GAG ON
57…Summer shade..TAN
59…Hermione’s love..RON
60…Chanced on..FELL INTO
63…Michener’s “The Bridges at __”..TOKO-RI
65…Worth keeping..UTILE
66…Appealing to prejudice rather than intellect, as an argument..AD HOMINEM
68…Large green moths..LUNAS
69…Masked critter..COON
70…March Madness initials..NCAA
71…Coastal attraction..LIGHT(HOUSE)
72…Kids’ hideout..TREE(HOUSE)
73…Where an inch may represent a foot..DOLL(HOUSE)
Down
1…Uninhibited jazz style..BARREL(HOUSE)
2…Climber’s tool..ICE AXE
3…Salad slice..RADISH
4…Tango moves..DIPS
5…Original Model T need..CRANK
6…Writer Deighton..LEN
7…Arles articles..UNES
8…Hydrocarbon obtained from crude oil..BUTENE
9…”Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?,” e.g…GROANER
10…French wine valley..LOIRE
11…Totally confused..ALL AT SEA
12…ATM feature..SLOT
13…Place of refuge..SAFE (HOUSE)
18…First sign of fall..LIBRA
22…Hairstyling stuff..POMADE
25…1944 French battle site..ST LO
28…Choir recess..APSE
30…With 41-Across, quarantined, and a hint to completing 12 puzzle answers..HOUSE-
32…B&B, maybe..INN
33…The Twinings shop at 216 Strand in London, e.g….TEA(HOUSE)
35…Titania’s husband..OBERON
37…Sax-playing Simpson..LISA
38…Zoo..MAD(HOUSE)
39…Tailless simian..APE
40…Big name in traveling shows..RINGLING
42…Branch structure..NEST
45…Most foxy..CAGIEST
47…__ Penh..PHNOM
50…Undamaged..INTACT
52…Super Bowl 50 champ..BRONCO
53…”Because you’re worth it” brand..L’OREAL
54…1978 comedy classic..ANIMAL (HOUSE)
56…Islamic deity..ALLAH
58…Make amends..ATONE
60…Theater with no seats?..FULL (HOUSE)
61…Case for notions..ETUI
62…Follower of Pepé Le Pew?..ODOR
64…Big-hearted..KIND
67…Weed tackler..HOE
LAT: 3 letters off. Never heard of 11D, then Natick at 27A-1D. 16A: How’s it feel “Coasters”? After seeing so much coastal (both) geography, I wonder how they will react to this one (and if you’re wondering, yes I’ve actually set foot in the place)?
WSJ: 0 letters off, meta answered and contest entered. Fun grid to work, too.
DNF for me. I had limited time on this one so I punted at the end. I’m not a fan of this type of theme, but I’ll respect the effort. When I got ANIMAL, the theme was pretty obvious, but at that point I was already well into Google mode
Glenn – 16A ROLLA, MO? You lost me. I’ve been there many times. Used to be Univ. of Missouri – ROLLA, but I guess the name has changed. It was always a very good engineering school. ROLLA is a little town off I-44 between St. Louis and Springfield.
I’m shopping for outdoor patio furniture this weekend as I have people coming in from out of town soon. But after researching it a bit I decided buying my own private jet would be cheaper. Sheeesh — what is this stuff made of gold? Now I remember why I hate shopping.
Best –
@Jeff
Given your background you talk about on here, I figure you might have. But I was referring to the coastal biases that exist in the crossword world – the whole hobby is very much East Coast predominant with a layer of West Coast influence. That said, constructors and papers tend to put a lot of specific and intimate geographical emphasis on the coasts when it comes to crossword entries, outside of major nationally known cities (Kansas City, St. Louis, Omaha, Des Moines, Ames, etc). Rolla happens to be something that I actually knew about as opposed to most all the others (Altamonte Springs? Really?), plus something that isn’t going to be commonly known as those other places.
It was more or less just a “Hah, something I actually know for once” thing.
Just completed the LAT’s this minute. I finally got up the courage to cross out the “A” in butane and put in the obviously much needed “E” instead. Glad there wasn’t some weird spelling of separate that I had never heard of before. Ha!
Have a great Friday all and we’ll see what sort of grey matter torture tomorrow brings us.
Rather than an appeal to, ad hominem is an argument against a subject using prejudice against the opposing person. A perfect example is Donald Trump’s reference to “Crooked Hilary” as a reason to vote for him. A pretty low-ball tactic in debating societies and usually frowned on (but apparently not in politics).
I didn’t get this theme at all and therefore many answers that fit didn’t make much sense. Paolo for Paul vs my answer – Peter threw me for a loop as well. a clever but unusual double clue, i.e. not only who wrote the epistles but the Spanish name for that person. Love a challenge. but whew 🙂
So I just finished the WSJ grid. I finally solved it successfully, but there was a pretty significant amount of ink spilled in strike overs that my grid looked like someone has defaced it while I wasn’t looking. Glenn, if you found this easy I’m impressed! The only two word phrase I could think of after getting raked over the coals by this thing for the “meta” contest was “Bite me” and I didn’t think that was right.
DNF for me after :20. I knew I was doomed. How does 1A make any sense?
Thank you Piano Man…I felt the same way reading that clue. Missouri-Rolla is now called the Missouri University of Science and Technology. My cousin got his engineering degrees from there.
RIP Gordie Howe, “Mr. Hockey.”
34A: There is no such word as “epistolas” in Italian. The plural is “epistole”. In Spanish “epístolas” means epistles. Even though it the clue didn’t have an accent mark over the “i”, I figured that it was Spanish, so I put in PEDRO.
I mean I put in PABLO.
Mr. Buckley needs to re-attend grammar school and Mr. Norris is his co-conspirator, but who should know better!! As an example, there is no Super Bowl champ named “Bronco.” The Twinings shop answer cannot be tea because that is an incomplete answer. And, if you are using “masked critter,” there must be some notation that it is a contraction of the clue. I am beginning to think that the L.A. Times Crossword Puzzles are just getting way too cute for their own good. If you are going have a difficult puzzle (which is fine with me) at least have fair clues. SEP
Got up too early to go swim, as AT&T was supposed to come and hook up the new DSL (U-Verse).
They never showed up OR called.
We now have a new appointment next week with no explanation as to why they didn’t show.
Tried the puzzle in fits and starts, but didn’t get the idea.
DNF…. and don’t get me started on the Jazz clue.
pffft.
Got all the bottom 2/3s except for T(O)KORI, where I had an A. Also had the NW and most of the N but just parts of the NE(Loire, slot and __fe.)
Just ran out of time with too many other puzzles still to do(Hard Sudoku and KenKen.)
Onto Saturday…
Hey Dan! I also put in PABLO!!
Hi Stephen — the TEA answer works becuz of the theme: add HOUSE. As for BRONCO, I think it’s acceptable, since the clue is singular. I figure the idea was one player.
Got about 65% done before I had to send up a flare. I think I could have done this one with more time — like Jeff. BTW Jeff, have you shopped online for patio furniture? I have Amazon Prime, and I got some nice outdoor pieces, with free shipping!!
Of course, I had to pay my handyman to put them together, but you could probably do that yourself.
Never even heard of ROLLA (sorry…)
Finally — Hey Glenn! Any chance you’d be willing to write out the answers you refer to, rather than putting “11D,” for example? That way we know what you’re talking about without having to refer back to the grid.
Well, that’s enough outta me…. curious to see what Saturday brings…
Be well~~?