Constructed by: Mark Diehl
Edited by: Rich Norris
Quicklink to a complete list of today’s clues and answers
Quicklink to comments
Theme: None
Bill’s time: 39m 07s
Bill’s errors: 2
- LIT ON (hit on!!!)
- SADLER (Sadher)
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
8. Licorice-flavored liqueur : SAMBUCA
Sambuca is an Italian liqueur that is flavored with anise. Sambuca is often served straight up with three coffee beans floating on the surface. The beans are said to represent health, happiness and prosperity. A more “saucy” representation for the beans is the husband, wife and mistress.
15. Loaded : AS RICH AS CROESUS
Croesus was the king of Lydia from 560 to 547 BC. He was noted for his fabulous wealth. As a result, the name “Croesus” entered the English language as a synonym for a wealthy man in expressions such as “rich as Croesus” and “richer than Croesus”.
20. Sch. that moved from the Mountain West Conf. to the Big 12 in 2012 : TCU
The athletic teams of Texas Christian University (TCU) are known as the TCU Horned Frogs. The Texas horned lizard is known colloquially as the “horned frog”.
21. Prefix with analysis : META-
Meta-analysis is the statistical analysis of pooled data, data obtained in multiple experiments studying similar subjects.
22. Odd page, normally : RECTO
The left and right pages of a book or magazine are known in publishing circles as verso and recto. Recto comes from the Latin for “right”, and verso comes from the Latin word for “turned”. The idea is that the left side of the page is “turned” and is the reverse of the recto/right side.
24. Barley wine, e.g. : ALE
Barley wine is a very strong ale from England. The term “barley wine” is used because the alcohol content of the beer is similar to that of wine (8-12%) and yet it is made from grain rather than fruit.
25. First child of Henry VIII to survive to adulthood : MARY I
Mary I was Queen of England and Ireland from 1553 to 1558. Mary was the only surviving child from the marriage of King Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Unlike her father, Mary adhered to her Roman Catholic faith and was noted for her brutal persecution of Protestants during her reign. She had almost three hundred religious dissenters burned at the stake, resulting in her gaining the nickname “Bloody Mary”. Roman Catholic rule was reversed after she died, when her half-sister Elizabeth I succeeded to the throne.
26. Rummy : SOUSE
The word “souse” dates back to the 14th century and means “to pickle, steep in vinegar”. In the early 1600s the usage was applied to someone “pickled” in booze, a drunkard.
27. Leaf producer : NISSAN
The Leaf is an electric car made by Nissan, introduced in 2010. The model name is an acronym standing for “leading environmentally-friendly affordable car”.
29. Like stucco : TEXTURED
Stucco is a decorative coating that is applied to walls and ceilings. “Stucco” is the Italian name for the material, and a word that we imported into English.
33. Gateway Arch designer : SAARINEN
Eero Saarinen was a Finnish American architect, renowned in this country for his unique designs for public buildings such as Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Dulles International Airport Terminal, and the TWA building at JFK. The list of his lesser-known, but still impressive, works includes several buildings erected on academic campuses. For example, the Chapel and Kresge Auditorium on the MIT campus, the Emma Hartman Noyes House at Vassar College, the Law School building at the University of Chicago, and Yale’s David S. Ingalls Rink.
The Gateway Arch in St. Louis is the tallest monument in the United States. It was designed by Eero Saarinen, with the help of structural engineer Hannskarl Bandel. They did their design work back in 1947, but construction wasn’t started until 1963. In 1980, a daredevil took it upon himself to parachute onto the top of the arch, intending to further jump from the apex of the arch and parachute to the ground. He hit the arch alright, and slid all the way down one of the arches to his death. No comment …
36. Author Huxley : ALDOUS
Aldous Huxley was a writer from England whose best-known work is the novel “Brave New World”. Huxley was noted for his interest in parapsychology and mysticism, as well as for his promotion of the idea of taking psychedelic drugs “in a search for enlightenment”.
40. “The Empire Strikes Back” director Kershner : IRVIN
Film director Irvin Kershner was at the helm for several films, with most successful being sequels, such as “The Empire Strikes Back”, “Never Say Never Again” and “RoboCop 2”.
41. “Tell It to My Heart” singer Taylor __ : DAYNE
Taylor Dayne is the stage name of singer-songwriter Leslie Wunderman. Dayne’s best-known record is probably “Tell It to My Heart”, released in 1988.
43. One abroad : UNE
In French, feminine nouns take the indefinite article “une”, and the definite article “la”.
44. Béchamel base : LAIT
Béchamel sauce is a roux made from butter and flour cooked in milk. It is sometimes known simply as white sauce. Béchamel is also considered the “mother sauce” in French cuisine as it is the base of other sauces. For example, Mornay sauce is Béchamel with cheese.
45. Easing of govt. control : DEREG
Deregulation (dereg.)
46. Bingo call : B-TEN
Our modern bingo is a derivative of an Italian lottery game called “Il Giuoco del Lotto d’Italia” that became popular in the 16th-century.
47. Nature-nurturing org. : EPA
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
48. State of Österreich : TIROL
The Austrian state of Tyrol (“Tirol” in German) has to be one of the most beautiful places in the world, especially if you love the mountains. It is in the very west of the country, just south of Bavaria in Germany. The capital city is the famous Innsbruck.
The name “Austria” is a Latin variant of the German name for the country, “Österreich”. “Österreich” itself means “Eastern borderlands”, a reference to the country’s history as a prefecture of neighboring Bavaria to the west.
49. California’s __ Bay : MORRO
Morro Bay is a city on the California coast. The city was named for Morro Rock, a 581-foot tall monolith located just offshore.
50. Cub, for one : NATIONAL LEAGUER
The Chicago Cubs is one of only two charter members of the baseball’s National League who are still playing, the other being the Atlanta Braves. The Cubs won the World Series in 2016 for the first time since 1908, which is a long time ago. In fact, the Cubs had the longest championship drought of any professional sports team in North America.
53. Saint-Exupéry classic : THE LITTLE PRINCE
“Le Petit Prince” is a celebrated French novella written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and first published in 1943. “Le Petit Prince” (The Little Prince) is the most read book in France, and the book most translated from French. The philosophical tale recounts the story of a stranded pilot meeting a young prince who falls to Earth from an asteroid. Saint-Exupéry was himself a pioneering aviator. He wrote “Le Petit Prince” while living in exile in the US due to the German occupation of France during WWII.
54. Caustic solution : SODA LYE
Soda lye is a solution of sodium hydroxide. One common use of soda lye is in the manufacture of soap.
Down
1. King pen name : BACHMAN
Author Stephen King started to use the pen name “Richard Bachman” in the late 1970s, after he had already achieved success. There’s still some speculation about the reasoning behind King’s use of a pseudonym. Some suggest that he did so to prove to himself that he could replicate his success. Others suggest that the use of the pen name allowed him to publish more than one book a year, which was a publishing guideline at that time. King’s choice of pseudonym was inspired by the rock group Bachman-Turner Overdrive, as he is a fan.
2. Beersheba native : ISRAELI
Beersheba is the largest city in the desert region in southern Israel called the Negev. Beersheba is home to many Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union, who brought with them many aspects of the culture of their former homeland. For example, the Beersheba now has more chess grandmasters per capita than any other city in the world.
3. Euripides tragedy : ORESTES
Orestes is a character appearing in Greek mythology, and is the subject of several Ancient Greek plays.
Euripides was a celebrated playwright of Ancient Greece, renowned for his tragedies. Euripides was one of the three great writers of tragedy of classical Athens, alongside Aeschylus and Sophocles.
4. Japanese two-seater : MIATA
The Mazda MX-5 is sold as the Miata in North America, and as the Roadster in Japan. I’ve always liked the looks of the Mazda Miata, probably because it reminds me so much of old British sports cars. The Miata is built in Hiroshima, Japan.
5. Top : ACME
The “acme” is the highest point, coming from the Greek word “akme” which has the same meaning.
7. British potter James known for Brown Betty teapots : SADLER
James Sadler’s pottery was located in Stoke-on-Trent, the British ceramics capital located in the West Midlands of England. Sadler founded his company in 1882, and over the years developed a reputation for creating novelty teapot designs, the most famous being the Brown Betty teapot. Sadler’s company was successful for over a hundred years, but folded in 2000.
8. FDR’s Fala et al. : SCOTTIES
Fala was the famous Scottish Terrier that was ever present at the side of President Franklin D. Roosevelt for many years. The terrier was a Christmas gift to the president from his cousin, who had named the dog Big Boy while she trained him as a puppy. President Roosevelt renamed him after an ancestor of his from Falahill in Scotland, so the dog’s full name was Murray the Outlaw of Falahill. Fala lived on for several years after the president’s passing. I’ve had the privilege of visiting the gravesites of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt in Hyde Park, New York, and Fala is buried just a few feet away from his master.
9. Film beeper, familiarly : ARTOO
Artoo’s proper name is R2-D2. R2-D2 is the smaller of the two famous droids from the “Star Wars” movies. British actor Kenny Baker, who stood just 3 ft 8 ins tall, was the man inside the R2-D2 droid for the first six of the “Star Wars” movies.
12. Bob Hope venue : USO TOUR
The United Service Organization (USO) was founded in 1941 at the request of FDR “to handle the on-leave recreation of the men in the armed forces”. A USO tour is undertaken by a troupe of entertainers, many of whom are big-name celebrities. A USO tour usually includes troop locations in combat zones.
I remember my first non-business visit to Los Angeles. I was a typical tourist and bought a map showing the homes of the stars and drove around Beverly Hills absorbing all the glitz. At one point I drove past a Rolls Royce that was stopped in oncoming traffic, waiting to make a left turn. The window was down, and the driver was puffing away on a big cigar. It was none other than Bob Hope. Seeing him there right beside me, that was a big thrill …
13. Mark of a shark : CUE CASE
A pool shark is a player who hustles others in a pool hall, aiming to make money unfairly in competition. The term used to be “pool sharp”.
16. Sushi bar selection : SPICY TUNA ROLL
Sushi is a Japanese dish that has as its primary ingredient cooked, vinegared rice. The rice is usually topped with something, most often fish, and can be served in seaweed rolls. If you want raw fish by itself, then you have to order “sashimi”.
25. Muir Woods’ county : MARIN
When you leave the city of San Francisco via the famous Golden Gate Bridge (i.e. heading north), you cross into Marin County.
Muir Woods is a National Monument located not too far from here, just north of San Francisco. It is home to enormous old growth Coast Redwood trees. The land was declared a National Monument in 1908 by President Theodore Roosevelt. The name “Muir Woods” was chosen in honor of the naturalist John Muir.
26. It’s a wrap : STOLE
A stole is a lady’s clothing accessory, a narrow shawl. It can be made of quite light decorative material, or it can be heavier especially if made of fur.
28. Sail-extending pole : SPRIT
A sprit is a pole that extends out from a mast, often supporting a special sail called a spritsail.
30. Yangtze tributary : XIANG
The Xiang River in southern China is one of the largest tributaries of the Yangtze River.
The Yangtze River rises in the Tibetan plateau and flows broadly from west to east through China before entering the East China Sea at Shanghai. The Yangtze is the third longest river in the world (after the Nile and the Amazon), and is the longest in Asia.
33. Solo pianists often provided music for them : SILENTS
The Silent Era of filmmaking is generally said to have started in 1894 with the shooting of a very simple film by Auguste and Louis Lumière called “La Sortie de l’Usine Lumière à Lyon” (Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory in Lyon). The famous talkie “The Jazz Singer” was released in 1927, and it was a commercial success. However, the end of the Silent Era is often cited as 1929, when talkies really began to dominate in movie theaters.
34. Cheyenne allies : ARAPAHO
The Arapaho tribe lived on the eastern plains of Colorado and Wyoming. The Arapaho traditionally wintered in small camps in the foothills of the Rockies, and then relocated to plains in the spring where they hunted the buffalo that were gathering to give birth to their young.
39. Many in España : SENORES
In Spanish, three “amigos” (male friends) are “senores” (gentlemen).
In Spanish, “Spain” is written as “España”.
45. __ Moore: Hormel brand : DINTY
The Hormel food processing company was founded in 1891 by George Hormel as a meat packing operation. Personally, when I hear “Hormel”, I think of Spam …
46. ’30s-’50s filmdom nickname : BOGIE
Humphrey “Bogie” Bogart’s breakthrough movie was “The Petrified Forest” from 1936, but for me, nothing beats “Casablanca”. Although, if you haven’t seen it, check out the original “Sabrina” from 1954. It’s a real delight.
49. Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Levy : MARV
Marv Levy is a former American and Canadian Football coach. He is probably most noted as a coach from his days with the Buffalo Bills, when the team won four consecutive AFC championships.
51. Waterfront gp. : ILA
The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA)
52. Prefix with Pen : EPI-
EpiPen is a brand name of epinephrine auto-injector. An EpiPen delivers a measured dose of epinephrine, usually for the treatment of an allergic reaction.
Complete List of Clues and Answers
Across
1. Renewable fuel source : BIOMASS
8. Licorice-flavored liqueur : SAMBUCA
15. Loaded : AS RICH AS CROESUS
17. Side dish in a sauce : CREAMED POTATOES
18. Rashness : HASTE
19. Came across by chance : LIT ON
20. Sch. that moved from the Mountain West Conf. to the Big 12 in 2012 : TCU
21. Prefix with analysis : META-
22. Odd page, normally : RECTO
23. Critter with tusks : BOAR
24. Barley wine, e.g. : ALE
25. First child of Henry VIII to survive to adulthood : MARY I
26. Rummy : SOUSE
27. Leaf producer : NISSAN
29. Like stucco : TEXTURED
31. Lavish supply : PROFUSION
33. Gateway Arch designer : SAARINEN
36. Author Huxley : ALDOUS
40. “The Empire Strikes Back” director Kershner : IRVIN
41. “Tell It to My Heart” singer Taylor __ : DAYNE
43. One abroad : UNE
44. Béchamel base : LAIT
45. Easing of govt. control : DEREG
46. Bingo call : B-TEN
47. Nature-nurturing org. : EPA
48. State of Österreich : TIROL
49. California’s __ Bay : MORRO
50. Cub, for one : NATIONAL LEAGUER
53. Saint-Exupéry classic : THE LITTLE PRINCE
54. Caustic solution : SODA LYE
55. Sells off : DIVESTS
Down
1. King pen name : BACHMAN
2. Beersheba native : ISRAELI
3. Euripides tragedy : ORESTES
4. Japanese two-seater : MIATA
5. Top : ACME
6. Miss : SHE
7. British potter James known for Brown Betty teapots : SADLER
8. FDR’s Fala et al. : SCOTTIES
9. Film beeper, familiarly : ARTOO
10. Complaint : MOAN
11. Jump in the pool? : BET
12. Bob Hope venue : USO TOUR
13. Mark of a shark : CUE CASE
14. Guaranteed : ASSURED
16. Sushi bar selection : SPICY TUNA ROLL
22. Didn’t stop talking : RAN ON
23. Destined : BOUND
25. Muir Woods’ county : MARIN
26. It’s a wrap : STOLE
28. Sail-extending pole : SPRIT
30. Yangtze tributary : XIANG
32. Form a political union : FEDERATE
33. Solo pianists often provided music for them : SILENTS
34. Cheyenne allies : ARAPAHO
35. Worked with props? : AVIATED
37. Beats to the finish line : OUTRUNS
38. Stoop-shouldered, say : UNERECT
39. Many in España : SENORES
42. Raised the roof : YELLED
45. __ Moore: Hormel brand : DINTY
46. ’30s-’50s filmdom nickname : BOGIE
48. Hard labor : TOIL
49. Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Levy : MARV
51. Waterfront gp. : ILA
52. Prefix with Pen : EPI-
This puzzle falls into the “are you kidding me??” category. It would be quicker here to list the things I actually knew.
Surprisingly, I did ok in the bottom half, but the top killed me. I had “speeches” for Fala (FDR did a Fala speech), “right” for odd page, Vietnam for Bob Hope venue – none of which worked and only a couple I straightened out…..a little. I also had a whole lot of blanks for many answers – BACHMAN, …CROESUS, ORESTES, BIOMASS, LITON, SOUSE, SADLER…
There were others, but SHEESH!! (MORRO, IRVIN, TIROL….it’s endless…)
I had a lot I wanted to do today anyway. Now I have to add “pick up my pride off of the floor” to my To Do list….
Best –
I could hardly do this at all. Decided to finish it with lots of help.
17:19, no errors, iPad. Like Jeff, I did this puzzle from the bottom up, with a number of educated guesses (SAMBUCA, TCU, DAYNE, IRVIN, BACHMAN, SADLER, and MARV).
I’ve forgotten almost everything else about it, but I shall forever remember Beersheba (Be’er Sheva) as the place where, in 1969, I first came … er … face-to-face … with Mideastern-style toilet facilities. When in need, one copes … 🙂
@Bill … Toward the end of your discussion of 53A, you refer to “Le Petit France” where I think you mean “Le Petit Prince”. And, I have put “Sabrina” in my Netflix queue …
Thanks, David. I do like to catch those typos.
As for “Sabrina”, I think that the original 1954 Bogart/Hepburn version is superb. The unusual thing to me is that the reboot from 1995, starring Harrison Ford and Julia Ormond, is just as good (IMHO). I recommend both.
I count myself in good company when I have exactly the same errors on the grid as Bill. This wasn’t easy and I am satisfied (but not ecstatic) that I came as close as I did to solving it without error.
Hope everyone has a great weekend.
@ Jeff “This puzzle falls into the ‘are you kidding me??'”
Couldn’t have said it better.
I read all of the clues and came up with DINTY and a guess on DAYNE.
Yesterday and today have me seriously doubting my ability to solve and my patience level.
I knew I was doomed from the outset.
Didn’t even try today so I wouldn’t have to throw the thing across the room.
@Carrie from last night,”Hope tomorrow’s puzzle is just — well — better!”
Don’t count on it. (sigh)
This was a killer. I gave up early to save my brain from frying. Way, way beyond my level. Hope Sunday’s is not like todays.
There’s challenging, and then there’s this verbal root canal from Mark Diehl. Puzzles, however tough, should offer some trace, however slight, of FUN. This one was excruciating.
Time to update your Cubbie answer.
Thanks, Argyle. I had updated my Cubs blurb for my NYTCrossword.com blog, but forgot about the LAXCrossword.com blog. I appreciate the friendly nudge! All fixed now.
Absolutely agree with other comments. Could not solve this one without the red cheater turned on. On the positive side, there was a lot to learn which is always the fallback on tough puzzles. I would be surprised, however, if I ever see ASRICHASCROESUS in a future crossword.
39D: Many in Espana = senores was downright unfair. The word many does not ever translate to senores in Spanish. I agree with other comments: this was no fun, too annoying and frustrating, and ultimately a waste of time.
@ RestMyCase …This is one of those “I’m so clever” clues. Ugh.
“Many” could be anything. Men, women, churches, languages. (I looked it up and there are 16)
It’s not a direct translation of many= muchas or muchos.
And as for Gerry, I don’t listen to inferior music, eat inferior food or waste my time on a clunker like this one.
NYT puzzle is a different and more smarmy animal.
Solving should be enjoyable.
UNERECT my ***
What a bunch of whiners! The Saturday puzzle is supposed to be hard and this one didn’t even come close to the difficulty level one sees routinely in the NY Times!
Well, I won’t whine, but “whoosh” is the sound I heard as most of the clues went over my head. I did have BIOMASS and SAMBUCA (after Pernod and Ouzo didn’t work.) Also had most of the NW and most of the SE as well as TIROL, BOAR and USO…. Mostly came here to learn for future reference.
Still, I liked today better than the tricky yesterday, which I also didn’t finish. Sigh!
Don’t compare this with the NYT Sat Puzzler. I have NEVER seen “made up” words and spellings in NYT as I did in this “puzzle”. I dislike puzzles with words used only by the creator. List, as I did, some of these words on a search engine and you’ll come up empty. I put “As rich as ___” on several searches before I gave up in disgust. Yes Sat puzzles are supposed to be tough – but NOT unsolvable. Why not go for whimsy and cleverness – like the NYT – not arcane words and made up abbrv.?? BTW: I finally got all but two words after almost three hours in front of my computer. Perseverance or insanity – your pick.
This was very tough. I missed one letter. I had sonores instead of senores, but I had to put it down and come back to it four times to complete it. I had about two hours in it before I finished.
This puzzle was one of the worst that I have ever come across. I don’t use the internet or anything else to work puzzles, and I think that Rich Norris is losing a lot of his audience by trying to be “cute, clever, and cunning”. I am grateful that Bill B takes the time to explain the LAT and NYT answers to all of us. Most puzzle-makers just post their stuff and don’t explain their answers. Evan Birnholz (WP Sunday) is the best in that regard.