LA Times Crossword 25 Mar 20, Wednesday

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Constructed by: Patti Varol
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): March 1st

Themed answers are individuals associated with “MARCH”:

  • 17A March commander : DRILL INSTRUCTOR
  • 41A March composer : JOHN PHILIP SOUSA
  • 64A March creator : LOUISA MAY ALCOTT

Bill’s time: 6m 10s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Furniture chain that also sells lingonberry jam : IKEA

Every IKEA store features a restaurant that serves traditional Swedish food, including Swedish meatballs and lingonberry jam. Each store also has a Swedish Food Market where customers can purchase specialty foods from Sweden.

5 Highlander : GAEL

The Scottish Highlands are that part of the country not classified as the Lowlands(!). The Highlands make up the north and west of Scotland.

16 Overseas coppers : PENCE

The official name of our smallest denomination coin is “cent”, and our use of the word “penny” is just a colloquialism derived from the British coin of the same name. In the UK, the plural of penny is “pence”, whereas we have “pennies” in our pockets.

19 Count who has a cameo in “Blazing Saddles” : BASIE

“Count” Basie’s real given name was “William”. Count Basie perhaps picked up his love for the piano from his mother, who played and gave him his first lessons. Basie’s first paying job as a musician was in a movie theater, where he learned to improvise a suitable accompaniment for the silent movies that were being shown. Basie was given the nickname “Count” as he became lauded as one of the so-called “Jazz royalty”. Others so honored are Nat “King” Cole and Duke Ellington.

“Blazing Saddles” is a 1974 Mel Brooks movie that has become a modern-day classic. I really only enjoy one Mel Brooks film, and “Blazing Saddles” isn’t it. Just in case you’re interested, I very much enjoy “Young Frankenstein” …

22 Rathskeller rejection : NEIN

A city hall in Germany is called a “Rathaus”. In days gone by, there was often a restaurant located in the basement or cellar of a Rathaus, and this restaurant was given the name “Rathskeller”.

28 SFO overseer : FAA

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was set up in 1958 (as the Federal Aviation Agency). The agency was established at that particular time largely in response to an increasing number of midair collisions. The worst of these disasters had taken place two years earlier over the Grand Canyon, a crash between two commercial passenger airplanes that resulted in 128 fatalities.

San Francisco International Airport (SFO) served as the main base of operations for Virgin America (sold to Alaska Airlines), and is also the maintenance hub for United Airlines.

41 March composer : JOHN PHILIP 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.

45 French 101 verb : ETRE

The verb “to be” is “ser” in Spanish and “être” in French.

46 Old Russian ruler : TSAR

The former Soviet Union (officially “Union of Soviet Socialist Republics”, i.e. USSR) was created in 1922, not long after the Russian Revolution of 1917 that overthrew the tsar. Geographically, the new Soviet Union was roughly equivalent to the old Russian Empire, and comprised fifteen Soviet Socialist Republics (SSRs).

51 Greener Living org. : EPA

Greener Living is an initiative of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

52 English blue cheese : STILTON

Stilton is a lovely village in Cambridgeshire in England, and is the original home of the delicious blue cheese called Stilton.

55 Whiskey cocktail : SOUR

A whiskey sour is made from whiskey, lemon juice and sugar, and is usually garnished with an orange slice and a maraschino cherry.

57 Form 1099 org. : IRS

There is a series of IRS 1099 forms used to report various types of income, other than wages, salaries and tips that are reported on Form W-2. Examples are Form 1099-INT used to report interest income, 1099-DIV used to report dividend income, and 1099-MISC used to report miscellaneous income.

58 “Wonder Woman” actress Gadot : GAL

Gal Gadot is an actress and former Miss Israel. She plays Gisele Yashar in the “Fast & Furious” film franchise, and then began portraying Wonder Woman in superhero movies.

64 March creator : LOUISA MAY ALCOTT

“Little Women” is a novel written by American author Louisa May Alcott. The quartet of “little women” comprises Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy March. Jo is a tomboy, the main character in the story, and is based on Alcott herself.

70 “Shape of You” Grammy winner : ED SHEERAN

English singer Ed Sheeran has appeared as an actor quite a few times. After several cameos in various films, Sheeran had a substantial role playing himself in the excellent 2019 film “Yesterday”.

72 “Gone Girl” actress Ward : SELA

Actress Sela Ward turns up in crosswords a lot. Ward played Teddy Reed in the TV show “Sisters” in the nineties, and was in “Once and Again” from 1999-2002. I don’t know either show, but I do know Ward from the medical drama “House” in which she played the hospital’s lawyer and Greg House’s ex-partner. That was a fun role, I thought. More recently, Ward played a lead role on “CSI: NY” and was a very welcome and much-needed addition to the cast. And, Ward played Dr. Richard Kimble’s murdered wife in the 1993 film version of “The Fugitive”.

“Gone Girl” is a thriller novel written by Gillian Flynn that was first published in 2012. The story tells of a man whose wife has disappeared, with the reader not being certain if the husband is involved in the disappearance. The book was adapted into a movie of the same name released in 2014, starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike.

73 “Queen of Country,” familiarly : REBA

Reba McEntire is a country music singer and television actress. McEntire starred in her own sitcom called “Reba” that aired on the WB and the CW cable channels from 2001 to 2007. She is sometimes referred to as “The Queen of Country”.

Down

1 Website for looking up “that actor on that show” : IMDB

The website called the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) was launched in 1990, and is now owned by Amazon.com. It’s a great site for answering questions one has about movies and actors.

2 __ Zor-El: Supergirl’s name on Krypton : KARA

Kara Zor-El is Superman’s cousin, and is also known as Supergirl. Supergirl’s father and Superman’s father were brothers. On Earth, Supergirl uses the name “Linda Lee”.

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

3 Yale students : ELIS

Elihu Yale was a wealthy merchant born in Boston in 1649. Yale worked for the British East India Company, and for many years served as governor of a settlement at Madras (now Chennai) in India. After India, Yale took over his father’s estate near Wrexham in Wales. It was while resident in Wrexham that Yale responded to a request for financial support for the Collegiate School of Connecticut in 1701. He sent the school a donation, which was used to erect a new building in New Haven that was named “Yale” in his honor. In 1718, the whole school was renamed to “Yale College”. To this day, students of Yale are nicknamed “Elis”, again honoring Elihu.

5 Moo goo __ pan : GAI

Moo goo gai pan is the American version of a traditional Cantonese dish. In Cantonese, “moo goo” means “button mushroom”, “gai” is “chicken” and “pan” is “slices”.

6 “Commonwealth” novelist Patchett : ANN

Ann Patchett is an author who lives in Nashville, Tennessee. Patchett’s most famous work is probably her novel “Bel Canto”, published in 2001. In 2012, “Time” included her in the magazine’s list of 100 most influential people in the world.

7 “Unique everything” online shop : ETSY

Etsy.com is an e-commerce website where you can buy and sell the kind of items that you might find at a craft fair.

9 PC core : CPU

The central processing unit (CPU) is the main component on the motherboard of a computer. The CPU is the part of the computer that carries out most of the functions required by a program. Nowadays you can get CPUs in everything from cars to telephones.

13 Some Slavs : SERBS

The Slavic peoples are in the majority in communities covering over half of Europe. This large ethnic group is traditionally broken down into three smaller groups:

  • the West Slavic (including Czechs and Poles)
  • the East Slavic (including Russians and Ukrainians)
  • the South Slavic (including Bulgarians, Croats and Serbs)

18 GPS displays : RTES

A global positioning system (GPS) might point out a route (rte.).

28 “Natural artesian water” brand : FIJI

Fiji Water, as you might guess, is a brand of water from the Fiji Islands. I just think that bottling water and sending it around the world is absolutely insane …

An artesian well is one that is drilled into an artesian aquifer. As the groundwater in the aquifer is under positive pressure, the water in the well rises without having to be pumped.

30 Fashionable sportswear portmanteau : ATHLEISURE

The wearing of clothing designed for athletic activity in casual, non-athletic environments is termed “athleisure”, which is a portmanteau of “athletic” and “leisure”.

32 Ballroom dance : WALTZ

What we tend to think of as a waltz today is danced at about 90 beats per minute. The original waltz was much faster, and danced at about 180 beats per minute. To differentiate, we now call the faster dance a “Viennese Waltz”, and sometimes refer to the other as the “English Waltz” or “slow waltz”.

35 Tatum who plays Amanda in “The Bad News Bears” : O’NEAL

Tatum O’Neal is the youngest actress to win a competitive Oscar. She won the Best Supporting Actress Award in 1974 when she was just 10 years old, for her role as Addie in “Paper Moon”. The youngest person to win an honorary Academy Award was Shirley Temple, who was only 5 years old when she was presented with an Oscar in 1934.

“The Bad News Bears” is a 1976 comedy film starring Walter Matthau and Tatum O’Neal. The movie is all about a Little League baseball team made up of misfits who are coached by an alcoholic former minor-league baseball player named Morris Buttermaker. The film was a big hit that spawned two sequels: “The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training” (1977) and “The Bad News Bears Go to Japan” (1978). There was also a television series and a 2005 remake that stars Billy Bob Thornton.

37 Tangle around a surge protector : WIRES

A surge protector is an appliance that protects electrical devices from damaging voltage spikes. Surge protectors often take the form of power strips.

39 Pronto : ASAP

The Spanish and Italian (and now English) word “pronto” is derived from the Latin “promptus” meaning “ready, quick”.

40 “Teen Titans” and “Teen Titans Go!” voice actress Strong : TARA

Actress Tara Strong is perhaps best known for her voice work. The list of her voice roles includes Dil Pickles on the TV series “Rugrats”.

43 100 centavos : PESO

The peso is used in many Spanish-speaking countries around the world. The coin originated in Spain where the word “peso” means “weight”. The original peso was what we know in English as a “piece of eight”, a silver coin of a specific weight that had a nominal value of eight “reales”.

“Centavo” is a Spanish and Portuguese word, and is used for the coin that represents 1/100 of the basic monetary unit of quite a few countries, including Cuba. “Centavo” comes from the Latin “centum” meaning “one hundred” and “-avo” meaning “portion, fraction”.

48 Tranquil discipline : YOGA

I’ve heard it explained that yoga brings the body and mind under control in order to harmonize with the spirit. Tantric yoga on the other hand, tries to use the mind to balance the needs of the body and the spirit.

50 Veil material : TULLE

Tulle is a lightweight net fabric that is often used in veils, wedding gowns and ballet tutus.

52 Opera great Beverly : SILLS

Beverly Sills was an operatic soprano from Brooklyn, New York. Sills retired from singing in 1980 to become the general manager of the New York City Opera. She later became Chairman of the Lincoln Center and the Metropolitan opera.

56 Regatta entrant : RACER

The word “regatta” is Venetian dialect and was originally used to describe boat races among the gondoliers of Venice on the Grand Canal back in the mid-1600s.

59 Put on cargo : LADE

The verb “to lade” meaning “to load” comes from an Old English word “hladan”. “Lade” also used to mean “draw water” and indeed gave us our word “ladle”. So “lade” and “ladle” are close cousins.

Cargo is freight carried by some vehicle. The term “cargo” comes into English via Spanish, ultimately deriving from the Latin “carricare” meaning “to load on a cart”.

63 Italian peak : ETNA

Mount Etna on the island of Sicily is the largest of three active volcanoes in Italy, and indeed the largest of all active volcanoes in Europe. Etna is about 2 1/2 times the height of its equally famous sister, Mt. Vesuvius. Mt. Etna is home to a 110-km long narrow-gauge railway, and two ski resorts. It is sometimes referred to as “Mongibello” in Italian, and as “Mungibeddu” in Sicilian. The English name “Etna” comes from the Greek “aitho” meaning “I eat”.

65 ’50s prez : IKE

There’s a lot of talk these days about how much golf is played by US presidents. One of the most enthusiastic golfers to sit in the Oval Office was President Dwight D. Eisenhower (DDE). “Ike” loved the game so much that he even played through the winter. He had his golf balls painted black so that he could see them against the snow on the ground.

66 Pre-1991 atlas initials : SSR

When the former Soviet Union (USSR) dissolved in 1991, it was largely replaced by the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The formation of the CIS underscored the new reality, that the former Soviet Republics (SSRs) were now independent states. Most of the 15 former SSRs joined the CIS. Notably, the three Baltic SSRs (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) opted not to join the new commonwealth, and in 2004 joined NATO and the EU.

67 Couture monogram : YSL

Yves Saint Laurent (YSL)

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Furniture chain that also sells lingonberry jam : IKEA
5 Highlander : GAEL
9 Irritable : CROSS
14 December temp : MALL SANTA
16 Overseas coppers : PENCE
17 March commander : DRILL INSTRUCTOR
19 Count who has a cameo in “Blazing Saddles” : BASIE
20 Thus far : YET
21 Airport with many connecting flights : HUB
22 Rathskeller rejection : NEIN
25 Tenants : RENTERS
28 SFO overseer : FAA
31 Not just assume : KNOW
33 Merit badge spot : SASH
34 Gaga over : INTO
36 Shellfish serving : CLAW
38 Smug look : GLOAT
41 March composer : JOHN PHILIP SOUSA
44 Fritters away time : IDLES
45 French 101 verb : ETRE
46 Old Russian ruler : TSAR
47 Not demanding : EASY
49 Citrus peel : ZEST
51 Greener Living org. : EPA
52 English blue cheese : STILTON
55 Whiskey cocktail : SOUR
57 Form 1099 org. : IRS
58 “Wonder Woman” actress Gadot : GAL
60 Run out : LAPSE
64 March creator : LOUISA MAY ALCOTT
69 Hides in the shadows : LURKS
70 “Shape of You” Grammy winner : ED SHEERAN
71 Direct : STEER
72 “Gone Girl” actress Ward : SELA
73 “Queen of Country,” familiarly : REBA

Down

1 Website for looking up “that actor on that show” : IMDB
2 __ Zor-El: Supergirl’s name on Krypton : KARA
3 Yale students : ELIS
4 Totally wiped : ALL-IN
5 Moo goo __ pan : GAI
6 “Commonwealth” novelist Patchett : ANN
7 “Unique everything” online shop : ETSY
8 “Gotta run!” : LATER!
9 PC core : CPU
10 Copying button : REC
11 Music to a bar customer’s ears : ON THE HOUSE
12 Really clean : SCOUR
13 Some Slavs : SERBS
15 Stylishly smooth : SLEEK
18 GPS displays : RTES
23 Go very slowly : INCH
24 “I’m not kidding!” : NO LIE!
26 Torments with reminders : NAGS
27 Letter-shaped opening : T-SLOT
28 “Natural artesian water” brand : FIJI
29 Give __ to: okay : A NOD
30 Fashionable sportswear portmanteau : ATHLEISURE
32 Ballroom dance : WALTZ
35 Tatum who plays Amanda in “The Bad News Bears” : O’NEAL
37 Tangle around a surge protector : WIRES
39 Pronto : ASAP
40 “Teen Titans” and “Teen Titans Go!” voice actress Strong : TARA
42 Hissed summons : PSST!
43 100 centavos : PESO
48 Tranquil discipline : YOGA
50 Veil material : TULLE
52 Opera great Beverly : SILLS
53 Brook fish : TROUT
54 Identifies : NAMES
56 Regatta entrant : RACER
59 Put on cargo : LADE
61 Peruse, with “over” : PORE …
62 Wild guess : STAB
63 Italian peak : ETNA
65 ’50s prez : IKE
66 Pre-1991 atlas initials : SSR
67 Couture monogram : YSL
68 “I’ve got it!” : AHA!

18 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword 25 Mar 20, Wednesday”

  1. @Carrie, yesterday: I know people disagree, but unless I see the word in some official document, I’ll continue to consider it an abbrev.
    @Jeff – I thought of another American food that foreigners (except Canadians) might shake their heads over: maple syrup and maple sugar.

    I had to Google for PENCE. I thought Varol was referring to police. Did not know TARA. Too young.
    ED SHEERAN is one of the few young musicians that this old lady likes. I especially like it that he sings with Andrea Bocelli.

  2. 8:23, no errors. One silly misstep: When I saw that I had “LOUIS A …”, I reflexively began to fill in “… MSTRONG”, but I only got as far as the “M” before I stopped myself. (Having “JOHN PHILIP SOUSA” up above was probably responsible for this.)

    I really ought to find out more about ED SHEERAN; he certainly shows up a lot in crossword puzzles.

    1. Okay, so I Googled “Ed Sheeran” and immediately said, “Oh, that guy!” I first became aware of him in the movie “Yesterday” (which I heartily recommend).

      I also watched three videos of Ed Sheeran, Andrea Bocelli, and/or Andrea’s son, Matteo Bocelli, one of which, a father/son duo called “Fall on Me”, brought tears to my eyes. (Okay, so I’m old and stressed and I don’t have much knowledge of music, but it’s very effectively done … 😜.)

  3. I also stumbled on “ATHLEISURE #30 down”. However a nice diversion from the reality of these trying times.

    Eddie

  4. Hope everyone is doing well…if anyone needed anything to do for a very long time, I recently ran across a 125×125 crossword (knowing me I’ll probably do it eventually, like the 27×27 Fri NYT level puzzle I found last)…of course the funny part is that one thing I’ve never been without is things to do, even while not being able to go out. It’s still rather frustrating to see the shelves empty after two weeks, but it is what it is. Gonna find out about that, and hope I can even get my bills for March let alone pay them. Life was a mess, and got even more a mess with this virus stuff. Hopefully it gets a lot better for all of us very soon.

  5. Had trouble in the top section for some reason. 14A , 16A & 17A had me shut down. Oh well. Just my bruised ego suffering, it could be worse.

  6. I didn’t do too well today. No bragging rights. I kept thinking 28a was something like San Francisco Opera. Haven’t flown to northern CA in a while. I found the top part somewhat challenging. I kept thinking of cops, not money. I guess that’s the fun of crosswords, knowing the creator can be tricky sometimes.

  7. 10:37. ATHLEISURE was just in the NYT so I remembered it. Clueless as to who ED SHEERAN is even after I looked him up.

    I had no idea our Vice President moonlighted as a European policeman.

    Never thought of “Jazz royalty” Count, King and Duke. Was that by design?

    Glenn – there was a story in our local paper about guy watching a woman at the supermarket load the last 2 DOZEN bottles of ketchup on the shelf into her cart. I’m wearing all my clothes inside out because I can’t find laundry detergent. When people are this stupid, it’s hard for anyone to function.

    California – which has the strictest restrictions in place in the country – has left dispensaries open. Nevada did the same. I don’t know what to think of that, but it does make me laugh.

    Jane – Never thought of maple syrup, but that’s true. In Mexico they generally put honey on pancakes which would make Dirk happy if we did that here. You have to ask for maple syrup if you want it down there. Most places have it for the tourists.

    The Las Vegas Review Journal has a countdown every day on the front page. Today it says 22 days until the Strip is scheduled to re-open. I’ll (happily) believe it when I see it.

    Best –

    1. @Jeff
      It doesn’t surprise me. I’ve seen so many pics on the Internet of people that just loaded their shopping cart with stuff. The fact so many food items are gone off the shelves even this long kind of half-amazes me.

      I’ve basically been having to go out a lot more than I ordinarily would (kind of against what they’ve been saying) just to be sure I have all the things I need *at all*. I lucked out and found one bottle of laundry detergent out of about 6 that was remaining on shelves that were several feet long. High-end brand though, so I paid more than I was comfortable with. But I’m set for a few months on that. Still hurting on shampoo (people I guess buy that up as a substitute for hand soap), so my hair is going to be a mess very soon when mine runs out.

  8. Bummer today, only a little better than half. just not in my area of expertise,
    if I even have one.

    I have only gone to pick up groceries one time, after ordering online the day before
    and then having half the order out of stock. I stayed in my car, probably unnecessarily
    wore gloves and a mask, because the loader put them in the open trunk and was almost
    the length of the car away from me. The hoarding could be at least reduced by the checkers
    at the end of the lines, even if self-checkout, by limiting to 2 per customer. What could anyone possibly do with 24 bottles of ketchup? Hard to find bread and eggs at this writing.

    And so it goes.

    Everyone stay safe, stay well and stay inside! We have to win this war.

  9. 13 minutes, 6 seconds, 2 errors. Should have known that g**d**** ETSY would be at the center of the one square error.

  10. I am finding this crossword great fun, even though I rarely get it completely correct. I enjoy the elaborations on each of the clues, and learn something new every day. I even enjoy the comments, and marvel at some of you getting the puzzle done in 6 or 7 minutes.

  11. Forgot to write down my start time but about 18-20 minutes with no errors…not too hard. Wrote in scot before GAEL and had to fix CLAm, before putting a fork in it, although I usually just use my hands.

    Finally started using a new pen (@Carrie) after using the old one for what I thought was a reasonable time – who knows when the University Art will open again 🙂

    Pence does kind of look like a cop.

    re Ed Sheeran – he’s starting to get some flack because he’s so ultra sensitive; apparently really dislikes any attention – which begs the question as to why he got into the music business.

    re maple syrup – Having been born in Canada, I truly love maple syrup, even the stuff from Vermont. I have been told by quite a few honey customers that they use it on their pancakes. Not my thing. Right now I would just be happy for more customers as my farmers market at SFSU has closed along with most of the school. Fortunately some of my customers/students are still calling me. I even had to join Nextdoor and got two orders so far.

    re Grocery stores – Our situation has seemed to calm down. I went shopping today and the TJoe’s store was well stocked. I got everything that I wanted and people were keeping their distances.

  12. Greetings!!🦆

    No errors. Nice theme. For “Music to a bar patron’s ear,” I had ANTHEM ROCK at first, which messed me up but I liked my answer and it almost fit!😁

    Here in LA and some other places stores limit the number of items to two per customer. Markets also limit how many customers can be in the store at one time. Hence the lines to get in…I know for me at least the fact of hoarding has impacted me perhaps more than any other aspect of this horrible situation. It’s hard to get anything for cleaning or Sanitation purposes. No grocery delivery. I know it’s better than it was on those points, but there’s such a backlog now! Meanwhile, please everyone stay safe! 😶

    Be well ~~🍸

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