LA Times Crossword 11 Mar 20, Wednesday

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Constructed by: Bryant White
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Reveal Answer: Greenback

Themed answers each end with a shade of GREEN:

  • 35A Dollar bill e.g., … and what the ends of the answers to starred clues have in common : GREENBACK
  • 16A *Orson Welles’ role in “The Third Man” : HARRY LIME
  • 23A *James T. Kirk player, in recent “Star Trek” films : CHRIS PINE
  • 50A *”Pogo” cartoonist : WALT KELLY
  • 59A *”Damn Yankees!” star : TAB HUNTER

Bill’s time: 6m 10s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

4 1972 Kentucky Derby winner __ Ridge : RIVA

Riva Ridge was a thoroughbred racehorse who won 1972’s Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes. He was owned and bred by Christopher Chenery, who also owned and bred Riva Ridge’s more famous stablemate Secretariat.

8 Landlocked African country : MALI

The Republic of Mali is a landlocked country in western Africa located south of Algeria. Formerly known as French Sudan, the nation’s most famous city is Timbuktu. Mali is the third-largest producer of gold on the continent, after South Africa and Ghana.

15 Half of a folk-rock duo : SIMON

Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel performed together as “Simon & Garfunkel”, as I am sure we all know. The friends started singing together way back in the fifties when they were still in school together. The name of their act black then was “Tom & Jerry”.

16 *Orson Welles’ role in “The Third Man” : HARRY LIME

“The Third Man” is a great film noir produced in England in 1949, and starring Joseph Cotten, Orson Welles and Trevor Howard. A great film in itself, “The Third Man” is often remembered for the title music, an instrumental piece featuring the zither that was written and performed by Anton Karas. The screenplay for the film was written by Graham Greene.

Orson Welles is perhaps best-remembered in the world of film for his role in 1941’s “Citizen Kane”. In the world of radio, Welles is known for directing and narrating 1938’s famous broadcast of “The War of the Worlds”, a broadcast that convinced many listeners that the Earth was indeed being invaded by aliens.

19 Org. promoting fluoridation : ADA

American Dental Association (ADA)

Fluoridation is the addition of a fluoride salt to the public drinking water system, a measure taken to reduce tooth decay. What I find interesting is that bottled water usually has no added fluoride, and most domestic water filters remove the fluoride from the water coming out of the faucet. Maybe that explains why my dental hygienist has been applying a fluoride varnish to my teeth …

21 State of calm attentiveness : ZEN

Zen is a Buddhist school that developed its own tradition in China back in the 7th century AD. Zen is a Japanese spelling of the Chinese word “chan”, which in turn derives from the Sanskrit word “dhyana” meaning “meditation”.

23 *James T. Kirk player, in recent “Star Trek” films : CHRIS PINE

Actor Chris Pine played a very young Captain James T. Kirk in the 2009 “Star Trek” film. Pine was also the fourth actor to play the role of Jack Ryan in the film series from the Tom Clancy novels (after Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck).

Actor Chris Pine played a very young Captain James T. Kirk in the 2009 “Star Trek” film. Pine was also the fourth actor to play the role of Jack Ryan in the film series from the Tom Clancy novels (after Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck).

26 Kareem, once : LEW

Basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s name at birth was Ferdinand Lewis “Lew” Alcindor. Alcindor changed his name when he converted to Islam.

27 Deli order : HERO

A hero is a submarine sandwich. The hero originated in New York City in the 1800s among Italian immigrants who wanted an Italian sandwich that reminded them of home. The name “hero” was coined in the 1930s, supposedly by a food critic in the “New York Herald Tribune” when he wrote that “one had to be a hero” to finish the gigantic sandwich. Hero is a prevalent term to this day in New York City, reserved for a submarine sandwich with an Italian flavor.

30 Koala’s hangout : TREE

The koala bear really does look like a little bear, but it’s not even closely related. The koala is an arboreal marsupial and a herbivore, native to the east and south coasts of Australia. Koalas aren’t primates, and are one of the few mammals other than primates who have fingerprints. In fact, it can be very difficult to tell human fingerprints from koala fingerprints, even under an electron microscope. Male koalas are called “bucks”, females are “does”, and young koalas are “joeys”. I’m a little jealous of the koala, as it sleeps up to 20 hours a day …

32 Crest container : TUBE

Crest is a Procter & Gamble brand of toothpaste that was introduced in 1953.

34 “Bus Stop” playwright : INGE

“Bus Stop” is a marvelous play written by William Inge in 1955. The famous 1956 movie of the same name, starring Marilyn Monroe, is only very loosely based on the play.

35 Dollar bill, e.g., … and what the ends of the answers to starred clues have in common : GREENBACK

“Greenback” is a common nickname for a US dollar bill. The original greenbacks were the Demand Notes issued by Abraham Lincoln’s administration to pay expenses incurred during the Civil War. Those notes were green and black on the front, and just green on the back, hence “greenback”.

40 Landlocked Asian country : LAOS

The present-day nation of Laos can trace its roots back to the historic Lao kingdom of Lan Xang that existed from 1354 to 1707. The full name of the kingdom was “Lan Xang Hom Khao”, which translates as “The Land of a Million Elephants and the White Parasol”.

41 “Elephant Boy” boy : SABU

Sabu Dastagir was an actor from India who made several films in Britain and America during the thirties and forties. Sabu (he was often known just by the one name) first appeared in the 1937 British film “Elephant Boy”, playing a young elephant driver. He made more British films over the next few years, including “The Thief of Baghdad” in 1940 and the 1942 version of “The Jungle book”. Sabu moved to Hollywood and became a US citizen in 1944. He joined the US Army Air Forces and served as a tail gunner in the Pacific, eventually winning the Distinguished Flying Cross for valor and bravery. Sadly, in 1963 Sabu died of a heart attack, at only 39 years of age.

45 Jigsaw unit : PIECE

Jigsaws are saws designed for the cutting of irregular curves by hand. The original jigsaw puzzles were created by painting a picture on a sheet of wood and then cutting the picture into small pieces using a jigsaw, hence the name. Today, almost all jigsaw puzzles are pictures glued onto cardboard. The puzzle pieces are now die-cut, and so there’s no jigsaw involved at all.

47 Color printer refills : INKS

“Inkjet” is a very accurate and descriptive name for the type of printer. Printing is accomplished by shooting extremely fine jets of ink onto the page.

49 “What’s shakin’?” : ‘SUP

I think that “sup?” is slang for “what’s up?”

50 *”Pogo” cartoonist : WALT KELLY

“Pogo” is a comic strip launched in 1948 that was the creation of cartoonist Walt Kelly. The story centers on animals that live in the Okefenokee Swamp on the Georgia-Florida border, with the title character “Pogo Possum” being an anthropomorphic opossum.

59 *”Damn Yankees!” star : TAB HUNTER

Actor Tab Hunter was a Hollywood star in the fifties and sixties. Of his many film performances, Hunter is probably best known for portraying ballplayer Joe Hardy in 1958’s “Damn Yankees”. He was also a successful singer, and had a number-one hit with “Young Love” in 1957. Off the screen, Hunter had a long-term relationship with actor Anthony Perkins.

In the musical show “Damn Yankees”, the title refers to the New York Yankees baseball team that dominated the sport in the fifties. That said, the show tells the story of a man who sells his soul to help his beloved Washington Senators team beat the Yankees and win the pennant. So, “Damn Yankees” is yet another version of the classic German legend of “Faust”. The show was written by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, a production that turned out to be a very successful follow-up to their prior hit, “The Pajama Game”. The future was looking really rosy for Adler and Ross but, sadly, Jerry Ross died of obstructive lung disease only a few weeks after “Damn Yankees” opened on Broadway in 1955. He was just 29 years old.

63 Wetland birds : TERNS

Terns are a family of seabirds. They are similar to gulls, but are more slender and more lightly built. Many species of tern are known for their long-distance migrations, with the Arctic tern migrating so far that it is believed to see more daylight in a year than any other animal.

65 “Put a tiger in your tank” brand : ESSO

“Put a Tiger in Your Tank” was an advertising slogan and theme used by Esso gasoline in the 1960s.

66 Babe in the woods : FAWN

A fawn is a young deer, usually one less than a year old.

67 LP successors : CDS

The compact disc (CD) was developed jointly by Philips and Sony as a medium for storing and playing sound recordings. When the first commercial CD was introduced back in 1982, a CD’s storage capacity was far greater than the amount of data that could be stored on the hard drive of personal computers available at that time.

Down

3 “The Big Sleep” private eye : MARLOWE

“The Big Sleep” is a film released in 1946, and a great example of the film noir genre. Based on Raymond Chandler’s 1939 novel of the same name, the movie stars Humphrey Bogart as detective Philip Marlowe, and Lauren Bacall as the sultry daughter of Marlowe’s client.

4 Most populous Arabian Peninsula city : RIYADH

Riyadh is the capital of Saudi Arabia, and is located near the center of the country. The name “Riyadh” translates from Arabic as “the gardens”.

The Arabian Peninsula (also “Arabia”) is part of Western Asia that is located just north-east of Africa. The peninsula is bordered to the west by the Red Sea, to the northeast by the Persian Gulf, and to the southeast by the Indian Ocean. Most of the Arabian Peninsula is taken up by Saudi Arabia, but also included are Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Yemen. And, it’s the largest peninsula in the world, covering about 1¼ million square miles.

5 Pandora’s boxful : ILLS

According to Greek mythology, Pandora was the first woman. She was created by the gods, with each god bestowing on her a gift. Her name can be translated from Greek as “all-gifted”. Pandora is famous for the story of “Pandora’s Box”. In actual fact, the story should be about Pandora’s “Jar” as a 16th-century error in translation created a “box” out of the “jar”. In the story of Pandora’s Box, curiosity got the better of her and she opened up a box she was meant to leave alone. As a result she released all the evils of mankind, just closing it in time to trap hope inside.

7 PIN point : ATM

One enters a Personal Identification Number (PIN) when using an Automated Teller Machine (ATM). Given that the N in PIN stands for “number”, then “PIN number” is a redundant phrase. And, given that the M in ATM stands for “machine”, then “ATM machine” is a redundant phrase as well. Grr …!

8 End of a soldier’s URL : MIL

The .mil domain was one of the six original generic top-level domains specified. The complete original list is:

  • .com (commercial enterprise)
  • .net (entity involved in network infrastructure e.g. an ISP)
  • .mil (US military)
  • .org (not-for-profit organization)
  • .gov (US federal government entity)
  • .edu (college-level educational institution)

10 Cough drop : LOZENGE

Back in the 14th century, a “lozenge” was a “diamond shape”. The original lozenges were tablets held in the mouth to dissolve. They had this diamond shape, hence the name.

13 WWII light machine gun : BREN

The Bren gun is a light machine gun that was used mainly by the British armed forces from the 1930s until the 1990s. The Bren is a modified version of a gun designed in the city of Brno in Czechoslovakia. The name “Bren” comes from “Brno” and “Enfield”, where the gun was modified and produced.

20 Talk smack about : DIS

“Dis” (also “diss”) is a slang term meaning “insult” that originated in the eighties. It is a shortened form of “disrespect” or “dismiss”.

22 Deli order : BLT

The BLT (bacon, lettuce and tomato) is the second-most popular sandwich in the US, after the plain old ham sandwich.

24 Boot stud : HOBNAIL

Hobnailed boots are boots with hobnails in the soles (duh!). Hobnails are short “nails” with a raised head that usually screw into the soles. The nail heads provide a durable walking surface, protecting the leather of the sole itself.

25 Legendary Hollywood hot dog restaurant : PINK’S

Pink’s Hot Dogs is a famed LA restaurant that was founded by Paul and Betty Pink as a pushcart hot dog stand in 1939. The current restaurant opened for business in 1946.

31 “Snowy” bird : EGRET

The snowy egret is a small white heron that is native to the Americas. At one time the egret species was in danger of extinction due to hunting driven by the demand for plumes for women’s hats.

36 Houston NBA team : ROCKETS

The Houston Rockets NBA team was founded as a league expansion team in 1967 in San Diego. The Rockets relocated to Houston in 1971. Surprisingly (to me), the Rockets were not named for Houston’s connection to NASA. The “Rockets” moniker was partly due to San Diego’s more tenuous NASA connection. General Dynamics’ San Diego operation developed and built the first Atlas rockets, including those used in Project Mercury.

38 Cochise followers : APACHES

Cochise and Geronimo were perhaps the two most famous Apache leaders to resist intrusions by the European Americans in the 1800s. Both lived lives full of conflict, but both also lived relatively long lives. Cochise eventually entered into a treaty putting an end to the fighting, and retired onto a new reservation. Cochise died of natural causes in 1874, at the age of 69. Geronimo surrendered, and spent years as a prisoner of war. He spent his last years as a celebrity, and even rode in the inaugural parade for President Theodore Roosevelt. Geronimo died of pneumonia in 1909 at the age of 79.

39 Instagram overlays : FILTERS

Instagram (often abbreviated to “Insta”) is a photo-sharing application, one that is extremely popular. Instagram started in San Francisco in 2010. Facebook purchased Instagram two years later, paying $1 billion. The billion-dollar Instagram company had just 13 employees at the time of the sale …

42 Like some lions : ASIATIC

Most Asiatic lions are found in northwestern India.

46 Brain scan inits. : EEG

An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a record of electrical activity caused by the firing of neurons within the brain. The EEG might be used to diagnose epilepsy, or perhaps to determine if a patient is “brain dead”.

48 Costume spangle : SEQUIN

Sequins are ornamental discs that glisten and are often used to decorate clothing. The term “sequin” was first recorded in the early 1800s. Prior to that date, “sequin” was the French name for a former Italian and Turkish coin. The ornamental discs were so called as they were deemed to resemble gold coins.

53 Country duo Brooks & __ : DUNN

Brooks & Dunn was a country music duo made up of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn.

56 Bandleader Artie : SHAW

Artie Shaw was a composer, bandleader and jazz clarinetist. Shaw’s real name was Arthur Jacob Arshawsky, born in New York City in 1910. One of his many claims to fame is that he (a white bandleader) hired Billie Holiday (a black vocalist) and toured the segregated South in the late thirties. Holiday chose to leave the band though, due to hostility from Southern audiences back then. Artie Shaw was married eight times in all. The list of his wives includes the actresses Lana Turner and Ava Gardner, as well as Betty Kern, daughter of songwriter Jerome Kern.

58 Rock producer Brian : ENO

Brian Eno is a musician, composer and record producer from England who first achieved fame as the synthesizer player with Roxy Music. As a producer, Eno has worked with David Bowie, Devo, Talking Heads and U2.

60 DOJ division : ATF

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) today is part of the Department of Justice (DOJ). The ATF has its roots in the Department of Treasury dating back to 1886 when it was known as the Bureau of Prohibition. “Explosives” was added to the ATF’s name when the bureau was moved under the Department of Justice (DOJ) as part of the reorganization called for in the Homeland Security Act of 2002.

61 Bikini half : BRA

The origin of the word “bikini”, describing a type of bathing suit, seems very uncertain. My favorite story is that it is named after the Bikini Atoll, site of American A-bomb tests in the forties and fifties. The name “bikini” was chosen for the swim-wear because of the “explosive” effect it had on men who saw a woman wearing the garment!

62 Some NFL linemen : RGS

Right guard (RG)

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 School of thought : ISM
4 1972 Kentucky Derby winner __ Ridge : RIVA
8 Landlocked African country : MALI
12 Sense of balance : STABILITY
15 Half of a folk-rock duo : SIMON
16 *Orson Welles’ role in “The Third Man” : HARRY LIME
17 Public square : PLAZA
18 Court answers : PLEAS
19 Org. promoting fluoridation : ADA
21 State of calm attentiveness : ZEN
22 Fair-haired : BLOND
23 *James T. Kirk player, in recent “Star Trek” films : CHRIS PINE
26 Kareem, once : LEW
27 Deli order : HERO
29 Police trickery : STING
30 Koala’s hangout : TREE
32 Crest container : TUBE
34 “Bus Stop” playwright : INGE
35 Dollar bill, e.g., … and what the ends of the answers to starred clues have in common : GREENBACK
38 Curly top : AFRO
40 Landlocked Asian country : LAOS
41 “Elephant Boy” boy : SABU
45 Jigsaw unit : PIECE
47 Color printer refills : INKS
49 “What’s shakin’?” : ‘SUP
50 *”Pogo” cartoonist : WALT KELLY
52 Finds the right words, say : EDITS
54 Step into character : ACT
55 It may need massaging : EGO
56 Crouch down : SQUAT
57 Word with ice or cookie : … SHEET
59 *”Damn Yankees!” star : TAB HUNTER
63 Wetland birds : TERNS
64 Pushing to the limit : STRAINING
65 “Put a tiger in your tank” brand : ESSO
66 Babe in the woods : FAWN
67 LP successors : CDS

Down

1 “More or less” suffix : -ISH
2 Desktop item : STAPLER
3 “The Big Sleep” private eye : MARLOWE
4 Most populous Arabian Peninsula city : RIYADH
5 Pandora’s boxful : ILLS
6 Sundial seven : VII
7 PIN point : ATM
8 End of a soldier’s URL : MIL
9 Jaw-dropping : AMAZING
10 Cough drop : LOZENGE
11 Absurd : INANE
13 WWII light machine gun : BREN
14 Class ring number : YEAR
15 Acting fitfully : SPASTIC
20 Talk smack about : DIS
22 Deli order : BLT
23 Pitiless : CRUEL
24 Boot stud : HOBNAIL
25 Legendary Hollywood hot dog restaurant : PINK’S
28 French summer : ETE
31 “Snowy” bird : EGRET
33 Black shade : EBONY
36 Houston NBA team : ROCKETS
37 “Try me” : ASK
38 Cochise followers : APACHES
39 Instagram overlays : FILTERS
42 Like some lions : ASIATIC
43 Rifle handle : BUTT END
44 Good times : UPS
46 Brain scan inits. : EEG
48 Costume spangle : SEQUIN
50 Fritter away : WASTE
51 They may be drawn : LOTS
53 Country duo Brooks & __ : DUNN
56 Bandleader Artie : SHAW
58 Rock producer Brian : ENO
60 DOJ division : ATF
61 Bikini half : BRA
62 Some NFL linemen : RGS

24 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword 11 Mar 20, Wednesday”

  1. 8:31, no errors. Nice to be reminded of “Pogo”, one of my favorite comic strips (possibly second only to “Calvin and Hobbes”).

  2. Knocked out about 85 percent “the easy part” then struggled. Top right hand corner was tough. Put chad for #8 across & dotty for 11 down.
    Never recovered from that goof up.

    Eddie

  3. Could not handle the NE and NW quadrants and had to settle for 92% solved
    or a DNF, whichever mindset you want to work in. Very satisfied with the
    effort and was very close to getting the whole thing. Too bad that “close” only
    counts in horseshoes and dancing, eh? Haven’t done either in a long time.
    Haven’t solved a puzzle in a pretty long time, either. Still fun to try.

    No posting errors; all blanks were omissions. Just did not know them and
    could not find in my ancient, but pretty reliable dictionary.

    Kudos to all.

  4. @Chris….ups are good times and downs are bad times
    28:32 no errors….A good Wednesday puzzle.

  5. 7:41, 7 errors. Must be “Swill Week” at the Los Angeles Times. Or month. Can’t say a lot of the puzzles have been very good all March long.

  6. Found this easier than Tuesday’s. Finished with out any errors. Hope I don’t suffer tomorrow!

  7. No errors or Googles, but many unknowns: CHRIS PINE, FILTERS, DUNN, PINKS, BREN. Also, I think PIECE is lame. But GREEN is my favorite color.

  8. [oops, got redirected to the wrong comment page, didn’t notice, and posted this on yesterday’s!]

    6:00 even, with an error… the crossing of HARRY LIME and BREN, neither of which I knew. I had STEN at first for the gun which still left me clueless with the Orson Welles character. STABILITY proved that wrong, but then I was pretty stuck.

    I agree with Glenn, this is more of a later-week grid with all the long proper names. At least the theme was a decent one, I thought.

  9. 13:31. Solved like a themeless for me since I didn’t know any of the actors, nor am I very well versed in shades of green evidently. Apparently I don’t know how to spell LOsENGE either, but I fixed it.

    13:01 for the NYT today. Today’s puzzle hasn’t posted over there yet.

    Best –

  10. NYT: 11:03, no errors. (As Jeff says, the Wednesday puzzle hasn’t appeared there yet.)

    1. Bummer, but probably a good call. So far, the “Bolder Boulder” (a Memorial Day citizen’s race in which I have walked or jogged every year for the last 20 years) is still on, but I’m not sure I will do it even if it does happen: at 77, I feel like I have a coronavirus bullseye on my back.

  11. Test test… Trying to get a comment on here for over 7 years.. Thought I would try again. If it works I’ll post more.

    1. Holy crud, I made it to the big leagues.
      First, many thanks to Bill Butler for this site. I started as a newbie 7 years ago. No crossword experience what so ever.. I learned A LOT from this site. I even tracked Bill online at the ACPT.
      Now, after learning from all the bloggers over the years I’ve gotten much more confident. Thanks to everyone!! Even though I’m late on this one, might not get read. I’ll post more in coming days.
      – from an addicted crossworder.

  12. I eagerly look forward to this puzzle and the answers site every night! Thanks to Bill Butler and all the commenters. Keep it up! How long has this site been up?

    1. Hi Jan! Bill has been writing this blog since 2012. He started doing his New York Times blog in 2009. Isn’t he the best? 🤗

  13. Kind of a tough Wednesday for me; took me 19:43 with at least three red letter look-ups. Didn’t know RIVA, BREN, HARRYLIME, PINKS, CHRISPINE or how to spell LOsENGE either, but I fixed the last one myself. I have seen Chris in at least two of his Star Trek movies, but just just didn’t know his name or the apparently famous hot dog stand. Now I know about the Bren gun as well.

  14. Greetings y’all!!🦆

    No errors and a delightful film noir mini-theme! HARRY LIME!!! What a scamp. Welles is wonderful in that role.

    As to The Big Sleep, here’s an interesting factoid: there’s a minor character who’s murdered — but his murder is never solved, even tho you think it will be. During filming, They had to go back and ask the screenwriters who murdered the guy — and THEY didn’t know! What a great film.🤗

    Be well~~🍸

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