LA Times Crossword Answers 12 Jun 17, Monday










Constructed by: Ed Sessa

Edited by: Rich Norris

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

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Theme: The Doctor Is In

There’s the name of an ON-SCREEN DOCTOR hidden in each of today’s themed answers:

  • 49A. Words on Lucy’s “Psychiatric Help – 5¢” sign … and a hint to 20-, 33- and 39-Across : THE DOCTOR IS IN
  • 20A. Challenging response to provocation : YOU AND WHO ELSE? (giving “Doctor Who”)
  • 33A. Ruthless strategy : TAKE NO PRISONERS (giving “Dr. No”)
  • 39A. Nestlé chocolate chip treat : TOLL HOUSE COOKIE (giving “House”)

Bill’s time: 5m 28s

Bill’s errors: 0




Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies

Across

1. Aesop’s lazy grasshopper, for one : IDLER

In Aesop’s fable “The Ant and the Grasshopper”, the grasshopper spends the warm months singing and having a good time while the ant toils away storing food. When winter arrives, the grasshopper starts to die from hunger and begs the ant for food. The ant tells the grasshopper that he should have been more sensible instead of singing away all summer, and maybe he should dance through the winter!

14. “Stars and Stripes Forever” composer : SOUSA

John Philip Sousa was a composer and conductor from Washington, D.C. Sousa was well known for his patriotic marches and earned himself the nickname “The American March King”. He served as a member of the US Marine Band from 1868 to 1875, and after leaving the Marines learned to conduct and compose. One of the Sousa compositions that is well-known around the world is called “The Liberty Bell”, a tune used as the musical theme for BBC Television’s “Monty Python’s Flying Circus”. Sousa also wrote “Semper Fidelis”, which is the official march of the US Marine Corps.

“The Stars and Stripes Forever” by John Philip Sousa has since 1987 been the official National March of the US. It is common for a band to play “The Stars and Stripes Forever” after the US president gives a speech in a public forum, with “Hail to the Chief” being played as the president is introduced.

15. __ Hashanah: Jewish New Year : ROSH

Rosh Hashanah is loosely referred to as “Jewish New Year”. The literal translation from Hebrew is “head of the year”.

16. Beatles meter maid : RITA

“Lovely Rita” is a Beatles song on the “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” album. When the album was released in 1967, the term “meter maid” wasn’t used in the UK, although it was a slang term used in the US. The song helped spread the usage of “meter maid” all around the English-speaking world. Apparently the inspiration for the song was McCartney getting a parking ticket one day outside the Abbey Road Studios. He accepted the ticket with good grace, from a warden named Meta Davis. McCartney felt that Meta “looked like a Rita”, so that was the name she was given in the song.

17. Classic violin : AMATI

The first of the Amati family to make violins was Andrea Amati, who lived in the 14th century. He was succeeded by his sons, Antonio and Girolamo. In turn, they were succeeded by Girolamo’s son, Nicolo. Nicolo had a few students who achieved fame making musical instruments as well. One was his own son, Girolamo, and another was the famed Antonio Stradivari.

18. Eight-armed mollusks : OCTOPUSES

The name “octopus” comes from the Greek for “eight-footed”. The most common plural used is “octopuses”, although the Greek plural form “octopodes” is also quite correct. The plural “octopi” isn’t really correct as the inference is that “octopus” is like a second-declension Latin noun, which it isn’t. That said, dictionaries are now citing “octopi” as an acceptable plural. Language does evolve, even though it drives me crazy …

20. Challenging response to provocation : YOU AND WHO ELSE? (giving “Doctor Who”)

The iconic science-fiction television show “Doctor Who” first aired in 1963, and relaunched in 2005 by the BBC. The relaunched series is produced in-house by the BBC in Cardiff in Wales, the location that is the setting of the successful “Doctor Who” spin-off called “Torchwood”. The new show is about the Cardiff branch of the Torchwood Institute which investigates incidents involving extraterrestrials.

24. Strut on a runway : SASHAY

To “sashay” is to strut along in a showy manner. “Sashay” is an Anglicized form of the French word “chassé”, a sliding step used in square dancing.

28. Newsman Huntley : CHET

Chet Huntley was a newscaster who co-anchored “The Huntley-Brinkley Report” on NBC with David Brinkley from 1956 to 1970.

33. Ruthless strategy : TAKE NO PRISONERS (giving “Dr. No”)

“Dr. No” may have been the first film in the wildly successful James Bond franchise, but it was the sixth novel in the series of books penned by Ian Fleming. Fleming was inspired to write the story after reading the Fu Manchu tales by Sax Rohmer. If you’ve read the Rohmer books or seen the films, you’ll recognize the similarities between the characters Dr. No and Fu Manchu.

37. America’s National Tree : OAK

The oak was named the official National Tree of the US in 2004. The oak is the national tree of many countries around the world, including England, France, Germany, Jordan, Poland, Serbia and Wales.

38. Fish-catching bird : ERNE

The ern (sometimes “erne”) is also called the white-tailed eagle, or the sea-eagle.

39. Nestlé chocolate chip treat : TOLL HOUSE COOKIE (giving “House”)

The Toll House Cookie was first commercially produced chocolate chip cookie, and was the creation of chef Ruth Graves Wakefield in 1938. The name of the cookie comes from where Wakefield and her husband lived, the Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts.

44. George Carlin hosted the first one, briefly : SNL

NBC first aired a form of “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) in 1975 under the title “NBC’s Saturday Night”. The show was actually created to give Johnny Carson some time off from “The Tonight Show”. Back then “The Tonight Show” had a weekend episode, and Carson convinced NBC to pull the Saturday or Sunday recordings off the air and hold them for subsequent weeknights in which Carson needed a break. NBC turned to Lorne Michaels and asked him to put together a variety show to fill the vacant slot, and he came up with what we now call “Saturday Night Live”.

George Carlin was a stand-up comic famous for pushing the envelope of comedy in the broadcast media. Despite all the controversies surrounding his act, his passing in 2008 occasioned major tributes by networks and fellow entertainers alike.

48. Actor Mineo : SAL

The actor Sal Mineo’s most famous role was John “Plato” Crawford, the kid who was in awe of the James Dean character in “Rebel Without a Cause”. Sadly, Mineo was murdered in 1976 when he was just 37 years old. He was attacked in the alley behind his Los Angeles apartment and stabbed through the heart. When an arrest was made it was discovered that the murderer had no idea that his victim was a celebrity, and that his plan was just to rob anyone who came along.

49. Words on Lucy’s “Psychiatric Help – 5¢” sign … and a hint to 20-, 33- and 39-Across : THE DOCTOR IS IN

In Charles Schulz’s fabulous comic strip “Peanuts”, Charlie Brown is friends with at least three members of the van Pelt family. Most famously there is Lucy van Pelt, who bosses everyone around, particularly Charlie. Then there is Linus, Lucy’s younger brother, the character who always has his security blanket at hand. Lastly there is an even younger brother, Rerun van Pelt. Rerun is constantly hiding under his bed, trying to avoid going to school.

59. Cheese in a red wax coating : EDAM

Edam cheese takes its name from the Dutch town of Edam in North Holland. The cheese is famous for its coating of red paraffin wax, a layer of protection that helps Edam travel well and prevents spoiling. You might occasionally come across an Edam cheese that is coated in black wax. The black color indicates that the underlying cheese has been aged for a minimum of 17 weeks.

60. “Cheerio” : TATA

An Englishman might say “tata” or “cheerio” instead of “goodbye”. Well, supposedly so!

61. Father-son senators from Tennessee : GORES

Al Gore was born in Washington DC, the son of Al Gore, Sr., then a US Representative for the state of Tennessee. After deferring his military service in order to attend Harvard, the younger Gore became eligible for the draft on graduation. Many of his classmates found ways of avoiding the draft, but Gore decided to serve and even took the “tougher” option of joining the army as an enlisted man. Actor Tommy Lee Jones shared a house with Gore in college and says that his buddy told him that even if he could find a way around the draft, someone with less options than him would have to go in his place and that was just wrong.

62. Jupiter and Neptune, e.g. : GODS

Jupiter, also known as Jove, was the king of the gods in the Roman tradition, as well as the god of sky and thunder. Jupiter was the Roman equivalent to the Greek god Zeus.

Neptune was the Roman god of the sea and of freshwater. He was sometimes known as “Neptunus Equester” as he was also the god of horses and patron of horse-racing.

63. Like Mr. Hyde, e.g. : EVIL

Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” was first published in 1886. There are many tales surrounding the writing of the story including one that the author wrote the basic tale in just three to six days, and spent a few weeks simply refining it. Allegedly, Stevenson’s use of cocaine stimulated his creative juices during those few days of writing.

64. Phishing nets? : SCAMS

Phishing is the name given to the online practice of stealing usernames, passwords and credit card details by creating a site that deceptively looks reliable and trustworthy. Phishers often send out safe-looking emails or instant messages that direct someone to an equally safe-looking website where the person might inadvertently enter sensitive information. “Phishing” is a play on the word “fishing”, as in “fishing for passwords, PIN numbers etc.”

Down

1. Words to an old chap : I SAY

“Chap” is an informal term for “lad, fellow”, especially in England. The term derives from “chapman”, an obsolete word meaning “purchaser” or “trader”.

2. “__ arigato”: Japanese “thanks a lot” : DOMO

“Domo arigato” is Japanese for “thank you very much”.

3. Bash with tiki bars : LUAU

Nowadays the word “luau” denotes almost any kind of party on the Hawaiian Islands, but to the purist a luau is a feast that always includes a serving of “poi”, the bulbous underground stems of taro baked with coconut milk.

The world’s first tiki bar was called “Don the Beachcomber”, and was opened in L.A. in 1933 by Ernest Gantt (also known as “Donn Beach”). The bar became famous for its exotic rum cocktails. Gantt was called to serve in WWII, and the business expanded dramatically under his ex-wife’s management so that there was a 160-restaurant chain waiting for Gantt when he returned stateside.

5. 1988 Hoffman title role : RAIN MAN

“Rain Man” is an entertaining and thought-provoking film released in 1988 starring Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman. It’s all about a self-possessed yuppie (Cruise, appropriate casting!) who discovers he has a brother who is an autistic savant (Hoffman). Hoffman won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance, and “Rain Man” won the Best Picture award.

7. With 55-Down, monster’s lake : LOCH …
(55D. See 7-Down : … NESS)

The Loch Ness monster has been talked about for centuries, but modern interest started in 1933 when a spate of sightings was reported. Those sightings don’t seem to have stopped, with photographs really sparking the imagination.

9. Ditzy “Friends” friend and singer Snow : PHOEBES

The character Phoebe Buffay (and her identical twin sister Ursula) is played on the sitcom “Friends” by the actress Lisa Kudrow. Kudrow plays the ditzy member of the troupe of friends, but I’ve always viewed her as the “smartest” of the group of actors in real life, as best I could tell. Kudrow is behind the US version of the British genealogy show “Who Do You Think You Are?” a very entertaining bit of television.

Phoebe Snow was a singer-songwriter from New York City whose best known work is her 1975 hit “Poetry Man”.

12. Chowed down : ATE

“Chow” is a slang term for food that originated in California in the mid-1800s. “Chow” comes from the Chinese pidgin English “chow-chow” meaning “food”.

13. Kent and Kettle : PAS

Superman was sent to Earth in a rocket as a child by his parents who were living on the doomed planet of Krypton. On Earth he was discovered by the Kents, farmers who lived near the fictional town of Smallville. “Pa” and “Ma” Kent raised the infant as their own, giving him the name Clark, which was Ma Lent’s maiden name.

19. Aristotle’s teacher : PLATO

Plato was a Greek philosopher and mathematician. He was a student of the equally famous and respected Socrates, and Plato in turn was the teacher and mentor of the celebrated Aristotle.

21. “The Banana Boat Song” word : DAY-O

“Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)” is a traditional folk song from Jamaica. It is sung from the standpoint of dock workers unloading boats on the night shift, so daylight has come, and they want to go home. The most famous version of “Day-O” was recorded by Harry Belafonte, in 1956.

24. 755 HRs and 2297 RBIs for 25-Down, e.g. : STATS

25. Slugger Hank : AARON

The great Hank Aaron (“Hammerin’ Hank” or “the Hammer”) has many claims to fame. One notable fact is that he is the last major league baseball player to have also played in the Negro League.

31. Bert’s buddy : ERNIE

For many years, I believed that the “Sesame Street” characters Bert and Ernie were named after two roles played in the Christmas classic “It’s a Wonderful Life”. In the movie, the policeman’s name is Bert and his taxi-driving buddy is named Ernie. However, the “Sesame Street” folks have stated that the use of the same names is just a coincidence. Aww, I don’t wanna believe that’s a coincidence …

42. Transportation secretary Elaine : CHAO

When President George W. Bush appointed Elaine Chao as Secretary of Labor, he made a bit of history as Chao then became the first Chinese American in history to hold a cabinet post. It turned out that Chao became the only cabinet member to hold her post for President Bush’s full eight years in office. In 1993, Chao married Mitch McConnell, the Republican Leader of the US Senate.

50. Norse king : OLAV

Of the many kings of Norway named Olaf/Olav (and there have been five), Olaf II is perhaps the most celebrated as he was canonized and made patron saint of the country. Olaf II was king from 1015 to 1028 and was known as “Olaf the Big” (or Olaf the Fat) during his reign. Today he is more commonly referred to as “Olaf the Holy”. After Olaf died he was given the title of Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae, which is Latin for “Norway’s Eternal King”.

51. __ Field: Mets’ stadium : CITI

Citi Field is the relatively new baseball stadium used by the New York Mets that sits right next door to the site of Shea stadium, where the Mets had played for decades. And the new facility’s name comes from corporate sponsor Citigroup.

52. Camaro __-Z : IROC

The IROC-Z is a model of Camaro that was introduced by Chevrolet in 1978. The IROC-Z takes its name from a famous stock car race, the International Race of Champions.

53. Poet Teasdale : SARA

Sara Teasdale was a poet from St. Louis, Missouri although she spent much of her adult life in New York City. Examples of Teasdale’s most famous poems are “There Will Come Soft Rains” and “I Shall Not Care”. Teasdale committed suicide in 1933 by taking an overdose of sleeping pills.

54. Tabloid couple : ITEM

An unmarried couple known to be involved with each other might appear in the gossip columns. This appearance as “an item” in the papers, led to the use of “item” to refer to such a couple, but only since the very early seventies.

Tabloid is the trademarked name (owned by Burroughs, Wellcome and Co,) for a “small tablet of medicine”, a name that goes back to 1884. The word “tabloid” had entered into general use to mean a compressed form of anything, and by the early 1900s was used in “tabloid journalism”, applied to newspapers that had short, condensed articles and stories printed on smaller sheets of paper.

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Complete List of Clues and Answers

Across

1. Aesop’s lazy grasshopper, for one : IDLER

6. One of many in an ovation : CLAP

10. Critter catcher : TRAP

14. “Stars and Stripes Forever” composer : SOUSA

15. __ Hashanah: Jewish New Year : ROSH

16. Beatles meter maid : RITA

17. Classic violin : AMATI

18. Eight-armed mollusks : OCTOPUSES

20. Challenging response to provocation : YOU AND WHO ELSE? (giving “Doctor Who”)

22. Like many a villainous fictional scientist : MAD

23. Baseball tool : BAT

24. Strut on a runway : SASHAY

28. Newsman Huntley : CHET

30. Word with chick or split : PEA

33. Ruthless strategy : TAKE NO PRISONERS (giving “Dr. No”)

36. Operatic highlight : ARIA

37. America’s National Tree : OAK

38. Fish-catching bird : ERNE

39. Nestlé chocolate chip treat : TOLL HOUSE COOKIE (giving “House”)

44. George Carlin hosted the first one, briefly : SNL

45. Yours and mine : OURS

46. Warned, like a cornered cat : HISSED

47. Appropriate : APT

48. Actor Mineo : SAL

49. Words on Lucy’s “Psychiatric Help – 5¢” sign … and a hint to 20-, 33- and 39-Across : THE DOCTOR IS IN

56. Always masked one’s true self : LIVED A LIE

58. Fuming : IRATE

59. Cheese in a red wax coating : EDAM

60. “Cheerio” : TATA

61. Father-son senators from Tennessee : GORES

62. Jupiter and Neptune, e.g. : GODS

63. Like Mr. Hyde, e.g. : EVIL

64. Phishing nets? : SCAMS

Down

1. Words to an old chap : I SAY

2. “__ arigato”: Japanese “thanks a lot” : DOMO

3. Bash with tiki bars : LUAU

4. This, to Juan : ESTA

5. 1988 Hoffman title role : RAIN MAN

6. Ballpark filler : CROWD

7. With 55-Down, monster’s lake : LOCH …

8. Regarding : AS TO

9. Ditzy “Friends” friend and singer Snow : PHOEBES

10. Bond between friends : TRUST

11. Stand up : RISE

12. Chowed down : ATE

13. Kent and Kettle : PAS

19. Aristotle’s teacher : PLATO

21. “The Banana Boat Song” word : DAY-O

24. 755 HRs and 2297 RBIs for 25-Down, e.g. : STATS

25. Slugger Hank : AARON

26. Mastery : SKILL

27. Recover from wounds : HEAL

28. Tactless : CRASS

29. Walk on a trail : HIKE

30. Exec’s extras : PERKS

31. Bert’s buddy : ERNIE

32. Plant __: start something : A SEED

34. Do the honors, at a winefest : POUR

35. Modernists, briefly : NEOS

40. Wished : HOPED

41. Render obsolete : OUTDATE

42. Transportation secretary Elaine : CHAO

43. Drillers at sea : OIL RIGS

47. Throat-clearing sounds : AHEMS

48. Take unlawfully : STEAL

49. Plug on the small screen : TV AD

50. Norse king : OLAV

51. __ Field: Mets’ stadium : CITI

52. Camaro __-Z : IROC

53. Poet Teasdale : SARA

54. Tabloid couple : ITEM

55. See 7-Down : … NESS

56. Chicken serving : LEG

57. Altar vow : I DO

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13 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword Answers 12 Jun 17, Monday”

    1. My wife is constantly pointing out to me that I am oblivious to the obvious in real life. Apparently that principle also applies in my online life. Dr. No it is. All fixed now. Thanks, Argyle!

  1. Fast Monday solve which is fine with me. I completely missed the theme. By the time I got to the reveal answer I had stopped paying attention to it.

    @Carrie
    I have definitely been aslant after one of those tequila tours. Had to laugh at that one. On one trip to Puerto Vallarta, Jose Cuervo was having some sort of meeting with its reps from all over the world at the hotel where I was staying. They were handing out free tequila samples all over the hotel the entire time. I was more than aslant that trip….

    Best –

  2. I had CROWs before CROWD, never having been to a ball park actually in use. (sports) My Trivia Crack game constantly reminds me that sports is my worse subject.

    Had a Natick at IROC crosses GORES. Did not really know CITI, CHAO, DOMO, MA Kent (did know Kettle), ditzy PHOEBE (did know Snow), but all fell in. Are we really supposed to know Japanese words, now?

  3. Love Monday’s puzzle. Finished the grid without looking at the four long clues, figured out the theme, then looked at the clues… right on!! Kind of confused at Bill explanation of “TV doctors” knowing that Dr. No never had a TV show. But maybe Dr. Ken did have a show? Anyway I’m sure the movie “Dr. No” has been on TV, so I guess it fits the theme.

  4. I had a good time with the puzzle. Nice to see Dr. Argyle – though I did not understand the choice between Dr. No. and Dr. Ken. Oh well.

    Nothing more to mention – the clues were pretty much straightforward. Elaine Chao is also a cabinet member, and Secy. of Transportation under the current president. She must have done something right. So, the couple represent two- thirds of the three branches of govt, Sen Mitch McConnell being in the US Senate.

    Jeff, I too like tequila, a favorite drink, though I don’t drink oftener than once a fornight. Thanks for the info on mezcal, which I have never drunk. All I remember from a documentary on tequila, is that Agave root does not have enough sugars, by itself, to convert to alchohol, so extra sugar or sugarcane juice has to be added to make the alchohol.

    Regarding CC and her chinese name, Zhouquin, …… chinese names are impossible to transliterate in english. My neighbor’s name is officially,
    ChunRong, and (she) is pronounced Choo-eey (n) —- Yoo (n).
    The (n) is a nasal high pitch, which is not pronounced.

    I spent a pleasant hour, or two, reading about John Phillip Sousa, and about Colonel Bogey ( which was composed by the then Colonel Ricketts, on a golf course – ) by the british brevet Col. Frederick Ricketts, a.k.a. better known as Kenneth Alford., whose biography in the Wiki is very inspiring.

    Have a nice day all.

    1. @Vidwan –
      I seem to remember (although if it was at the end of the tour, my memory would be suspect) that it isn’t that the agave lacks sugar, it just doesn’t have a whole lot. Ergo some manufacturers use sugar cane to aid in the fermentation process, but that is usually cheaper tequilas.

      When the manufacturer uses only the agave plant (called a pina because it looks like a giant pineapple) the label says 100% agave on the label. To do this, it takes about 15 lbs of “pina” to produce 1 bottle of 100% agave tequila. More and more tequilas and almost all high end tequilas just use 100% agave. Those pinas can weigh anywhere from 50 to 200 lbs so usually they get about 10 bottles or so per plant. I’ve heard of 400 lb agave plants, but those were probably spotted at the end of tequila happy hour……

      I had forgotten so I looked it up. The sugar in the agave is called “inulin” (which I had never heard of) and the baking of the pina converts it to fructose. Then they squeeze the sap with the sugars out of the plant with heavy rollers in traditional distilleries which is what I saw most of.

      Overall it’s a fascinating process. I have a few holes in my memory of the process so perhaps I should go back again…strictly for educational purposes 🙂

      Best –

  5. 9:53, 2 errors. Very tough grid for a Monday.

    Dr. Ken would be more likely if you’re going for TV doctors (the other ones all are) than Dr. No.

    Never would have ever got the meta. Nothing in the puzzle indicates to look for TV shows, and even if I knew that, could have Googled the rest of the way. But none of those shows are familiar to me that they claim the meta is based off of.

  6. Apologies, all. I confused everyone this morning my picking out “Dr. Ken” instead of “Dr. No” from the themed answer TAKE NO PRISONERS. I compounded the error by suggesting that the puzzle’s theme is “TV Doctors”. I’ve revised that to “On-Screen Doctors”.

    I’m going to blame jet lag. My wife and I started out on our summer vacation road trip at the end of last week. We’ll be on the road until the end of July, so I might have to beg forbearance until we get back home. Regardless, greetings from thundery Cheyenne, Wyoming!

  7. Hi y’all!!
    @Jeff — LOL! I suppose “more than aslant” would be “afloor”? ?
    Fun puzzle, and a bit challenging for a Monday, but I got it done. As to the doctors, all are also separate words, whereas KEN is embedded.
    HEY!! Just checked my tequila — it’s 100% agave! I feel oddly proud …?
    Bill, thanks as always for continuing to post even on your vacation! Have fun and travel safely….. don’t worry about us!?
    Sweet dreams~~™???

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