LA Times Crossword Answers 1 Mar 17, Wednesday










Constructed by: Ed Sessa

Edited by: Rich Norris

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

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Theme: J.Crew

Today’s themed answers are the names of famous people who routinely use two initials at the start of their names, the first being the letter J:

  • 53D. Clothing chain … or what the answers to starred clues comprise? : J.CREW
  • 17A. *U.S. Steel co-founder : JP MORGAN
  • 36A. *”Whiplash” Best Supporting Actor : JK SIMMONS
  • 59A. *Peter Pan creator : JM BARRIE
  • 10D. *”Lost” co-creator : JJ ABRAMS
  • 36D. *Retail chain founder : JC PENNEY

Bill’s time: 7m 14s

Bill’s errors: 0




Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies

Across

8. Military action toys : GI JOES

G.I. Joe was the original “action figure”, the first toy to carry that description. G.I. Joe first hit the shelves in 1964. There have been a few movies based on the G.I. Joe figure, but, more famous than all of them I would say is the 1997 movie “G.I. Jane” starring Demi Moore in the title role. I thought that “G.I. Jane” had some potential, to be honest, but it really did not deliver in the end.

17. *U.S. Steel co-founder : JP MORGAN

John Pierpont Morgan was a financier and banker active in the last half of the 19th century and the early 20th century. Given the tremendous power that came with his wealth, Morgan and other tycoons were at times unpopular with the masses. Morgan did not often respond to criticism although did once say “I owe the public nothing”. Around the same time, John D. Rockefeller habitually rebuffed public inquiries with the words “silence is golden”.
US Steel was founded in 1901 with a merger of Carnegie Steel, Federal Steel and National Steel. The resulting company immediately became the world’s first billion-dollar corporation. US Steel reorganized in 1986 and changed its name to USX Corporation, but reverted to the US Steel name in 2001. I think I’m right in saying that the USX name was chosen because US Steel is traded under the symbol “X” on the New York Stock Exchange …

20. “August: __ County”: Meryl Streep film : OSAGE

“August: Osage County” is a dark comedy play by Tracy Letts that won a 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. I saw the 2013 movie adaptation that has a great cast including Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, and Benedict Cumberbatch. I really enjoyed it …

21. Spinal column part : VERTEBRA

The vertebrae are the individual bones that give strength and flexibility to the spinal column. The word “vertebra” is Latin. The term probably derives from the verb “vertere” meaning “to turn”, the idea being that the individual bones in the back allow turning and twisting.

23. Words on a candy heart : KISS ME

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.

25. “CHiPs” co-star Erik : ESTRADA

Actor Erik Estrada’s big break came with the movie “Airport 1975”, in which he played a Boeing 747’s flight engineer. He then co-starred as motorcycle police officer Poncherello on the television show “CHiPs” from 1977-81.

27. Newspaper VIPs : EDS

Editor (ed.)

28. Crèche figure : LAMB

In the Christian tradition, a nativity scene (also “crèche”) is a display of representing the the scene of the birth of Jesus. Nativity scenes might be subjects for paintings, for example, although the term is usually used for seasonal displays associated with the Christmas season.

31. Like Parmesan cheese : AGED

Genuine Parmesan cheese is made in and around the province of Parma in northern Italy, which province gives the cheese its name.

33. Peas, for shooters : AMMO

The word “munitions” describes materials and equipment used in war. The term derives from the Latin “munitionem” meaning “fortification, defensive wall”. Back in the 17th century, French soldiers referred to such materials as “la munition”, a Middle French term. This was misheard as “l’ammunition”, and as a result we ended up importing the word “ammunition” (often shortened to “ammo”), a term that we now use mainly to describe the material fired from a weapon.

36. *”Whiplash” Best Supporting Actor : JK SIMMONS

J. K. Simmons is perhaps best known in recent years for his supporting role in the 2014 movie “Whiplash”, for which he won an Oscar playing an abusive music instructor. Simmons is also well known for playing the professor in the University of Farmers series of ads for the Farmers Insurance Group.

42. Orch. section : STR

The string (str.) section is part of an orchestra (orch.).

48. New York brewery known for its cream ale : GENESEE

One of Genesee Brewing Company’s most famous beers is Genesee Cream Ale, which was introduced in 1960. If you’re ordering a Genesee Cream Ale you might as for a “screamer”, which is what some Genesee drinkers call the bottle or can the beer comes in.

54. Turncoat : RENEGADE

A renegade is a person who leaves one cause, usually to take up an opposing cause. “Renegade” likely comes from the Spanish “renegado”, a term which originally was used for a Christian who had converted to Islam back in the late 16th century.

57. “Pardon me,” in Palermo : SCUSI

Palermo is the capital of the Italian autonomous region of Sicily. Palermo was founded by the Phoenicians over 2700 years ago.

58. Singer Warwick : DIONNE

Dionne Warwick is a very, very successful singer, with more Top 100 hits than any other female vocalist other than Aretha Franklin. Warwick had a pretty successful cousin who was a singer as well … called Whitney Houston.

59. *Peter Pan creator : JM BARRIE

The author and dramatist J.M. Barrie is best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. Barrie wrote a play in 1904 called “Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up”. He turned this into a novel called “Peter and Wendy” in 1911. The girl’s name “Wendy” was very uncommon before Barrie named his character, and he is given credit for making the name as popular as it is today.

62. Bird on Australia’s coat of arms : EMU

The official symbol of Australia is a coat of arms that features a kangaroo and an emu.

Down

3. All together : EN MASSE

“En masse” is a French term, one that is best translated as “as a group”

4. Classic music synthesizers : MOOGS

Robert Moog invented the Moog Synthesizer in the sixties, an electronic device that he used to produce music. I used to own a few of his albums, including a Moog version of Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition”. What a great performance that was …

5. __ McMuffin : EGG

The McMuffin breakfast sandwich was introduced, without the knowledge of the corporate office, by the operator of a Santa Barbara, California franchise in 1972. Back then, McDonald’s only offered food for lunch and dinner. The initial reaction of the corporate office on hearing about the McMuffin was to reprimand the Santa Barbara franchise operator, before embracing the concept. Apparently, McMuffins are only offered at breakfast because the grill temperature is different for cooking beef patties and eggs.

6. Cleaver nickname : BEAV

Wally Cleaver and his younger brother “the Beaver” were the children of Ward and June Cleaver on the fifties sitcom “Leave It to Beaver”.

7. Talus or radius : BONE

The collection of seven bones in the foot just below the ankle are known collectively as the tarsus. One of those bones is the talus (plural “tali”), more commonly called the ankle bone. The talus is the lower part of the ankle joint and articulates with the lower ends of the tibia and fibula in the lower leg.

The collection of seven bones in the foot just below the ankle are known collectively as the tarsus. One of those bones is the talus (plural “tali”), more commonly called the ankle bone. The talus is the lower part of the ankle joint and articulates with the lower ends of the tibia and fibula in the lower leg.

10. *”Lost” co-creator : JJ ABRAMS

J. J. Abrams is a director and producer of both movies and television shows. He created the TV dramas “Alias” and “Fringe”, and co-created the highly successful show “Lost”. He also directed “Mission: Impossible III” on the big screen, and the 2009 movie “Star Trek”.

In the TV show “Lost”, the plane that crashed was operated by Oceanic Airlines. The fictional airline Oceanic Airlines or Oceanic Airways turns up a lot on the big and small screen. Try and spot Oceanic in the movies “Executive Decision” and “For Love of the Game”, and in episodes of the TV shows “Castle”, “Chuck”, “Flipper”, “The Goldbergs” and “The X-Files”.

13. French possessive : SES

“Ses” is the French word for “his”, “her” or “its”, when referring to a group of items.

18. Sleep acronym : REM

REM is an acronym, short for Rapid Eye Movement sleep. REM sleep takes up 20-25% of the sleeping hours and is the period associated with one’s most vivid dreams.

22. Pickett’s Charge soldier : REB

Pickett’s Charge was an infantry assault that took place on the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg. The charge was a futile manoeuvre ordered by Confederate General Robert E. Lee that resulted in a loss of 50% of the attacking rebel forces. The defeat turned the course of the battle, and the Battle of Gettysburg turned the course of the Civil War.

24. Nightmare loc. of film : ELM ST

“A Nightmare on Elm Street” is a Wes Craven slasher-horror film, released in 1984. As I don’t do “slasher” nor “horror”, I only learned relatively recently that Johnny Depp was in the movie, making his feature film debut.

29. Bordeaux buddy : AMI

Bordeaux is perhaps the wine-production capital of the world. Wine has been produced in the area since the eighth century. Bordeaux has an administrative history too. During WWII, the French government relocated from Paris to the port city of Bordeaux when it became clear that Paris was soon to fall to the Germans. After the German’s took France, the capital was famously moved to Vichy.

33. Wanted poster initials : AKA

Also known as (aka)

34. __ pole : TOTEM

“Totem” is the name given to any entity that watches over a group of people. As such, totems are usually the subjects of worship. Totem poles are really misnamed, as they are not intended to represent figures to be worshiped, but rather are heraldic in nature often celebrating the legends or notable events in the history of a tribe.

35. MetLife’s business: Abbr. : INS

MetLife is the familiar name for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. MetLife was founded way back in 1868, and is headquartered in New York City.

36. *Retail chain founder : JC PENNEY

JCPenney department stores started out as the Golden Rule Store, founded by James Cash Penney and two partners in 1902 in Kemmerer, Wyoming. That first store is still operating today in Kemmerer. Sam Walton used to work for Penney’s in Des Moines, Iowa, before moving on to found the Walmart empire.

37. AAA handout : MAP

The American Automobile Association (AAA) is a not-for-profit organization focused on lobbying, provision of automobile servicing, and selling of automobile insurance. The AAA was founded in 1902 in Chicago and published the first of its celebrated hotel guides back in 1917.

38. Newton fruit : FIG

The Fig Newton cookie is based on what is actually a very old recipe that dates back to Ancient Egypt. Whereas we grew up with “Fig Rolls” in Ireland, here in America the brand name “Fig Newton” was used, named after the town of Newton, Massachusetts where they were first produced.

39. Explorer Vespucci for whom the New World was named : AMERIGO

Amerigo Vespucci was an Italian explorer. Vespucci was the man who established that the landmass discovered by Christopher Columbus was not the eastern coast of Asia, but rather was a “New World”. The newly-discovered supercontinent was named “America”, coming from the Latin version of Vespucci’s first name “Amerigo”.

46. Twinings product : TEA

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.

52. Simile words : AS A

A simile is a figure of speech in which a comparison is made between two things that are unalike. For example, a person might be described as “cute as a kitten” or as “busy as a bee”.

53. Clothing chain … or what the answers to starred clues comprise? : J.CREW

J.Crew is a clothing and accessory retailer. Never been there, but I’ve seen the name turn up on credit card statements somehow …

55. Played mixes at mixers, briefly : DJED

The world’s first radio disk jockey was one Ray Newby of Stockton, California who made his debut broadcast in 1909, would you believe? When he was 16 years old and a student, Newby started to play his records on a primitive radio located in the Herrold College of Engineering and Wireless in San Jose. The records played back then were mostly recordings of Enrico Caruso.

56. Jane Austen novel : EMMA

Jane Austen’s novel “Emma” is the tale of Emma Woodhouse and the wonderful George Knightley. At the end of the story, Emma marries Knightley and her young friend Harriet marries Robert Martin, who had been trying to get Harriet’s attention practically from page one of the novel!

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Complete List of Clues and Answers

Across

1. Article : ITEM

5. Die down : EBB

8. Military action toys : GI JOES

14. Something frowned upon : NO-NO

15. Graphic introduction? : GEO-

16. Harm : INJURE

17. *U.S. Steel co-founder : JP MORGAN

19. Roofer’s supply : SLATES

20. “August: __ County”: Meryl Streep film : OSAGE

21. Spinal column part : VERTEBRA

23. Words on a candy heart : KISS ME

25. “CHiPs” co-star Erik : ESTRADA

27. Newspaper VIPs : EDS

28. Crèche figure : LAMB

31. Like Parmesan cheese : AGED

32. “Didn’t I tell you?” : SEE?

33. Peas, for shooters : AMMO

34. Racetrack equipment : TIMERS

36. *”Whiplash” Best Supporting Actor : JK SIMMONS

38. Wealthy campaign donor : FAT CAT

41. Picture framing materials : MATS

42. Orch. section : STR

45. “It’s not too early to call” : I’M UP

46. Sprain support : TAPE

47. Dove’s call : COO

48. New York brewery known for its cream ale : GENESEE

51. College choices : MAJORS

54. Turncoat : RENEGADE

57. “Pardon me,” in Palermo : SCUSI

58. Singer Warwick : DIONNE

59. *Peter Pan creator : JM BARRIE

61. “Imagine so” : I GUESS

62. Bird on Australia’s coat of arms : EMU

63. Some celebs have delicate ones : EGOS

64. “Almost ready” : NOT YET

65. Dollop : DAB

66. Took off : WENT

Down

1. Humor for a select few : IN-JOKES

2. On the open deck : TOPSIDE

3. All together : EN MASSE

4. Classic music synthesizers : MOOGS

5. __ McMuffin : EGG

6. Cleaver nickname : BEAV

7. Talus or radius : BONE

8. Central points : GISTS

9. Small bay : INLET

10. *”Lost” co-creator : JJ ABRAMS

11. Serious injustice : OUTRAGE

12. What may be charged for books? : E-READER

13. French possessive : SES

18. Sleep acronym : REM

22. Pickett’s Charge soldier : REB

24. Nightmare loc. of film : ELM ST

26. Website pop-ups, e.g. : ADS

29. Bordeaux buddy : AMI

30. Matriarchal nickname : MOMMA

33. Wanted poster initials : AKA

34. __ pole : TOTEM

35. MetLife’s business: Abbr. : INS

36. *Retail chain founder : JC PENNEY

37. AAA handout : MAP

38. Newton fruit : FIG

39. Explorer Vespucci for whom the New World was named : AMERIGO

40. Turn a deaf ear to : TUNE OUT

42. Cause of calamity : SCOURGE

43. Twisting force : TORSION

44. Most cheerful : ROSIEST

46. Twinings product : TEA

49. Sixth __ : SENSE

50. Cast out : EGEST

52. Simile words : AS A

53. Clothing chain … or what the answers to starred clues comprise? : J.CREW

55. Played mixes at mixers, briefly : DJED

56. Jane Austen novel : EMMA

58. Racket : DIN

60. Mac : BUB

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10 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword Answers 1 Mar 17, Wednesday”

  1. I had a tough time with the puzzle – and I barely managed to get it done. Mr. Sesa is a tough though skilled constructor. I was not familiar with the full names, in context, of JPMorgan and JKSimmons. I only knew JM Barrie. Btw, I got the dvd of ‘Whiplash’ and hope to watch it soon, some day.

    The one thing I remember about Genesee Cream Ale, in Rochetser NY, (because of the Genesee river that flows there – ) was that it was the cheapest beer around. We ordered it when we were down on our money.

    Bill, thank you for your blog, and have a nice day, all.

  2. 8:19, no errors. Pretty easy one.

    @Glenn … Thanks for the link; it should come in handy. I did another of the Saturday Newsdays last night (the one from 02/18) and found it quite difficult, but finished in 31:18, with no errors. I think I’m getting a better sense of the level of misdirection in their cluing. By the way (with respect to comments you have made recently about timing): In the past, I have found that my puzzle skills are often improved as much by taking an occasional longish break as by hammering away at it day after day. I think breaks give the little gray cells time to reorganize, to toss strategies that don’t work so well, and to try out new ones. As an example, I am now in my third major encounter with sudokus; my solving strategy now is much faster, more intuitive, more successful, and less … boring … than it was during the previous encounters, and virtually all of the improvement has come about during the startup periods after each of the two major breaks.

    @Jeff … Do enjoy a cigar or two on me during your DR trip … 🙂 I only wish I could do that without being instantly hooked again but, alas, tobacco somehow

    1. … has an evil compatibility with my body chemistry. (I am fortunate not to have similar problems with alcohol, else I would be an alcoholic like some of my ancestors.)

      Sorry for the break in this comment … something went wrong with the interface …

    2. @David
      That definitely makes sense, as it’s something I’ve definitely done in the past.

      But I tend to do worse when I’m more stressed or tired (all too much lately, given I’ve picked my other interests back up) or when I’m not physically feeling well. Then, too, it seems about 95% of my crossword time each week is spent within a three day period (Fri-Sun) simply because of my inability to do those anywhere near as proficiently as the others, so that’s a stress in itself to keep up. Then as I’ve sure many have seen here, my mental state in general isn’t too good when I get discouraged (all too easy, long story behind it not fit for here), so I put a lot of stress on myself.

      All told, though, I ended up doing the Sunday Newsday (21×21) in 48 minutes (no errors) last night. While I never timed myself before, I know that’s much better than when I regularly did them. So I just have to keep reminding myself that despite the regressions the trend is still (somewhat) heading in a good direction.

      Of course, onward to see how I do with the early week NYT…

  3. Totally guessed at some of the clues. Not familiar with all the Js.
    I was somehow on Mr. Sessa’s wavelength, but was totally stumped concerning the theme reveal.
    Never been to J Crew, so it took a while.

  4. Moderately tricky, as was the WSJ grid. But both came to fruition in the end. I thought the LAT’s grid was an excellent “bridge” puzzle for a Wednesday. Challenging without causing ulcers for most here. Hope everyone has a most excellent hump day.

  5. With the pervasive use of GPS maps today in cars and on phones, I wonder how long the AAA will continue to give out free hard copy maps. I’m afraid they are destined to history along with pay phones and buggy whips 🙂

  6. Anyone remember JJ Yuk? Fred Lucky developed his first feature strip he called “J.J. Yuk.” It was a comic strip about a hapless, lonesome Eskimo and was syndicated by Newsday. I used to read it all the time when I was a kid.

  7. Hi all. Here at the bar in Punta Cana waiting on people.
    Dave I’m smoking a nice cigar they just rolled for me down the street. If only I knew what it was. Quite smooth actually

    JK Simmons gave the commencement address at the U of Montana last year and it was fabulous. I saw it on youtube. It’s 27 mins long if I remember correctly, but it’s worth the time. The guy is quite entertaining. A collegue of mine there told me about it and I watched it.

    Best….with a Presidente (Dominican beer)

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