LA Times Crossword 5 Mar 20, Thursday

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Constructed by: Kurt Krauss
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Reveal Answer: Stormy Weather

Themed answers are phrases associated with STORMY WEATHER that are often used in a figurative sense, as indicated in the clue:

  • 34A Song first sung by Ethel Waters at Harlem’s Cotton Club … and a hint to four other long answers : STORMY WEATHER
  • 17A They’re ominous : DARK CLOUDS
  • 28A They’re luminous : LIGHTNING BOLTS
  • 42A They’re clamorous : THUNDERSHOWERS
  • 59A They’re ruinous : HAILSTONES

Bill’s time: 5m 48s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 __ Plaines: Chicago suburb : DES

Des Plaines is a suburb of Chicago that is located next to O’Hare International Airport. The city is named for the Des Plaines river that runs through the area.

4 J. Edgar Hoover Building org. : THE FBI

The J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington, D.C. is the headquarters of the FBI. FBI Director Hoover passed away May 2nd, 1972. The very next day, the US Senate passed a resolution requesting that the building, which was still under construction, be named for Hoover. The J. Edgar Hoover Building was inaugurated in 1975.

15 Sea between Greece and Turkey : AEGEAN

The Aegean Sea is that part of the Mediterranean that lies between Greece and Turkey. Within the Aegean Sea are found the Aegean Islands, a group that includes Crete and Rhodes.

16 Dutch South African : BOER

“Boer” is the Dutch and Afrikaans word for “farmer”, a word that was used to describe the Dutch-speaking people who settled parts of South Africa during the 1700s.

19 Decent-sized lot : ACRE

One acre is equivalent to 43,560 square feet.

21 End of many long weekends: Abbr. : MON

The days of the week are named for celestial bodies and gods

  • Sunday — Sun’s Day
  • Monday — Moon’s Day
  • Tuesday — Tiu’s day
  • Wednesday — Woden’s day
  • Thursday — Thor’s day
  • Friday — Freya’s day
  • Saturday — Saturn’s day

23 Ad __ committee : HOC

The Latin phrase “ad hoc” means “for this purpose”. An ad hoc committee, for example, is formed for a specific purpose and disbanded after making its final report.

24 Many a “Twilight” character : TEEN

Author Stephenie Meyer is best-known for her “Twilight” series of vampire romance novels. The “Twilight” books are aimed at young adults. Meyer also wrote a 2008 adult sci-fi novel called “The Host”, which went straight to the top of the New York Times Best Seller list.

25 Gulf State native : OMANI

Oman lies on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula and is neighbored by the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Oman is a monarchy, and the official name of the state is the Sultanate of Oman. All of the country’s legislative, executive and judiciary power resides with the hereditary sultan.

27 That, in Oaxaca : ESA

Oaxaca is a state in the southern part of Mexico on the Pacific coast. The state takes the name of Oaxaca, its largest city.

28 They’re luminous : LIGHTNING BOLTS

The word “thunder” precedes the word “lightning” in the phrase “thunder and lightning”. However, thunder comes after lighting in reality, at least to the observer. The observer sees the flash of lightning and then seconds later hears the crash of thunder. That’s because light travels faster than sound.

32 Word in a January song : AULD

The song “Auld Lang Syne” is a staple at New Year’s Eve (well, actually in the opening minutes of New Year’s Day). The words were written by Scottish poet Robbie Burns. The literal translation of “Auld Lang Syne” is “old long since”, but is better translated as “old times”. The sentiment of the song is “for old time’s sake”.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne!

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

34 Song first sung by Ethel Waters at Harlem’s Cotton Club … and a hint to four other long answers : STORMY WEATHER

“Stormy Weather” is a 1933 song that is most associated with Lena Horne and Billie Holliday. It was first recorded by Ethel Waters, who debuted the song at the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City. “Stormy Weather” spawned a 1943 movie of the same name in which Lena Horne starred and performed the song.

40 Flat-bottomed boat : SCOW

A scow is a flat-bottomed boat with squared-off ends that’s often used for transportation, usually pushed or pulled by a barge. Often a scow can be seen carrying junk or garbage.

41 “Sesame Street” pal of Zoe : ELMO

The muppet called Zoe is a young orange monster that appears on “Sesame Street”. Zoe is best friends with Elmo. She is a great lover of ballet and always appears wearing a tutu.

49 “Jingle Bells” contraction : O’ER

The traditional Christmas song “Jingle Bells” was first published in 1857, penned by James Lord Pierpont. We associate the song with Christmas, although in fact Pierpont wrote it as a celebration of Thanksgiving.

Dashing through the snow
In a one horse open sleigh
O’er the fields we go
Laughing all the way

50 Last Supper question : IS IT I?

At the Last Supper, Jesus told his apostles that one of them would betray him that day. According to the Gospel of Matthew:

And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?

51 “Ivy and __”: kid-lit series by Annie Barrows : BEAN

“Ivy and Bean” is a series of children’s books written by Annie Barrows and illustrated by Sophie Blackall. The title characters are friends, two 7-year-old girls with very different personalities.Ivy is quiet and bookish, and is training to be a witch. Bean is a very boisterous tomboy. The first book in the series is “Ivy and Bean”, published in 2006.

53 Infamous Amin : IDI

Idi Amin ruled Uganda as a dictator from 1971 until 1979. Amin started his professional career as a cook in the Colonial British Army. Amin seized power from President Milton Obote in a 1971 coup d’état. The former cook eventually gave himself the title “His Excellency, President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin Dada, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Seas and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular”.

55 Breed of sheep : MERINO

The Merino breed of sheep is prized for the soft quality of its wool.

57 Astrological transition point : CUSP

The word “cusp” comes from the Latin “cuspis” meaning “spear, point”. In the world of astrology, a cusp is an imaginary line separating two signs of the zodiac. For example, some whose birthday is between April 16 and April 26 is said to have been born “on the cusp” between the signs Aries and Taurus.

62 Wasatch Mountains resort : ALTA

Alta ski resort actually lies within the Salt Lake City Metropolitan Area. The first ski lift in the resort was opened way back in 1939. Today, Alta is one of only three ski resorts in the country that prohibits snowboarding (along with Deer Valley, Utah and Mad River Glen, Vermont. The ski resort of Snowbird, located next to Alta, has been in operation since 1971.

The Wasatch Range is at the western edge of the Rocky Mountains and runs through Utah. “Wasatch” is a Ute word meaning “mountain pass”.

63 “Twilight” vampire : EDWARD

The reference is to a character in “The Twilight” series of books by Stephenie Meyer. “The Twilight Saga” is a series of films based on the books. “The Twilight” books feature vampires, and I don’t do vampires …

64 Suffix with Brooklyn : -ESE

The New York City dialect of English is sometimes referred to as “Brooklynese”. In Brooklynese, we might take “dis”, “dat”, “dese” or “dose” (this, that, these or those).

67 Some NFL blockers : RTS

Right Tackle (RT)

Down

2 Dental layer : ENAMEL

Tooth enamel covers the crowns of our teeth. Tooth enamel is the hardest substance in the human body. It is composed of 96% crystalline calcium phosphate.

3 Composer Rachmaninoff : SERGEI

Sergei Rachmaninoff was a Russian pianist and composer who was active in the late Romantic Era. Rachmaninoff emigrated from Russia in 1917, having been driven away by the Russian Revolution. He eventually settled in the US, where he toured as a pianist for many years. Rachmaninoff’s most famous works are probably his “Piano Concerto No. 1” and his “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini”.

7 Pot-au-__: French stew : FEU

Pot-au-feu is a French stew made with beef and is similar to many stews made around the world, containing cheap cuts of meat with mainly root vegetables and spices. The name “pot-au-feu” means “pot on the fire”, and used to apply to a pot that was kept on the fire during cold weather, with ingredients being added when they became available, and stew doled out when needed.

10 Abbr. in an unfilled TV slot : TBA

Something not yet on the schedule (“sked” or “sched.”) is to be advised/announced (TBA).

11 New __, NY: home of Iona College : ROCHELLE

Iona College is a Roman Catholic school run by Christian Brothers in New Rochelle, New York. The school’s sports teams are called the Iona Gaels, and the team mascot goes by the name Killian.

12 Ford’s first minivan : AEROSTAR

The Aerostar was the first minivan released by the Ford Motor Company, and was produced from 1986 to 1997.

13 Like some concrete : PRECAST

The terms “cement”, “mortar” and ”concrete” are related, and tend to get confused at times. Cement is a binder that hardens over time and binds other materials together. Cement mixed with a fine aggregate forms mortar, a workable paste used to bind building blocks together. Cement mixed with sand and gravel forms concrete, a pourable slurry that hardens into an extremely robust building material.

18 Big ape : KONG

“King Kong” really is a classic movie. It stars Fay Wray as the young woman (Ann Darrow) with whom Kong falls in love. Wray was very interested in the role as she was told that she would be playing opposite the “tallest, darkest leading man in Hollywood”. She thought it might be Clark Gable. At least that’s how the story goes …

22 Bird’s beak : NIB

“Nib” is a Scottish variant of the Old English word “neb”, with both meaning the beak of a bird. This usage of “nib” as a beak dates back to the 14th century, with “nib” meaning the tip of a pen or quill coming a little later, in the early 1600s.

26 Corn Belt region : MIDWEST

The Corn Belt (sometimes “Grain Belt”) is a region in the Midwest where, since the mid-1800s, corn has been the major crop. Geographically, the Corn Belt covers Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and parts of Michigan, Ohio, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota and Missouri. About 40% of the world’s corn production comes from the region, and most of that production is used for the feeding of livestock.

29 Guffaw syllable : HAR

“Guffaw”, meaning “boisterous laugh”, is an imitative word that is Scottish in origin.

30 Rum __ Tugger: “Cats” role : TUM

Rum Tum Tugger is one of the characters in T. S. Eliot’s “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats”. Rum Tum Tugger also appears in the Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Cats”, the musical based on Eliot’s book. In the musical, Rum Tum Tugger’s persona was written as a homage to Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones. So, the character tends to strut around the stage a lot.

31 __Kosh B’gosh : OSH

OshKosh B’gosh is a company that produces and sells children’s clothes. The trademark OshKosh bib-overalls remind us of the company’s roots, as it was originally a manufacturer of adult work clothes based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

34 Bus kiosk posting : SCHEDULE

Our word “kiosk” came to us via French and Turkish from the Persian “kushk” meaning “palace, portico”.

37 K-12, in education : ELHI

“Elhi” is an informal word used to describe anything related to schooling from kindergarten through grade 12, i.e. elementary through high school.

38 Latin lover’s word : AMO

“Amo, amas, amat” translates from Latin as “I love, you love, he/she/it loves”.

40 Showing no emotion : STOICAL

Zeno of Citium was a Greek philosopher famous for teaching at the Stoa Poikile, the “Painted Porch”, located on the north side of the Ancient Agora of Athens. Because of the location of his classes, his philosophy became known as stoicism (from “stoa”, the word for “porch”). We get our adjective “stoic, stoical”, meaning “indifferent to pleasure or pain”, from the same root.

44 Steer clear of : ESCHEW

“To eschew”, meaning “to avoid, shun” comes from the Old French word “eschiver” that means the same thing.

45 Saudi Arabian capital : 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”.

46 Iberian river to the Mediterranean : EBRO

The Ebro is the longest river in Spain. The river was known by the Romans as the Iber, and it is the “Iber” river that gives the “Iberian” Peninsula its name.

47 Carl with nine Emmys : REINER

The multi-talented Carl Reiner is from the Bronx, New York. Reiner was married to singer Estelle Roberts. You might remember Roberts from the film “When Harry Met Sally” that was directed by Carl’s son, Rob Reiner. Estelle was the woman in the deli who said the famous line “ I’ll have what’s she’s having”, on seeing how excited Meg Ryan apparently was with her sandwich.

55 Car sticker no. : MSRP

Manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP)

56 Postings at an airline gate, for short : ETDS

Estimated time of departure (ETD)

58 Vanna’s partner : PAT

Pat Sajak took over as host of “Wheel of Fortune” from Chuck Woolery back in 1983 and has been doing the job ever since. Sajak had a short run as a talk show host in 1989/1990 and used to sub quite often for Larry King and Regis Philbin.

Vanna White is the lady who turns the letters on the “Wheel of Fortune” game show. White is big into knitting and crochet, and has her own line of yarns called “Vanna’s Choice”.

60 __ Jima : IWO

Iwo Jima is a volcanic island located south of Tokyo that today is uninhabited. The name is Japanese for “Sulfur Island”, referring to the sulfur mining on which Iwo Jima’s economy once depended. There were about a thousand Japanese civilians living on the island prior to WWII. In 1944, there was a massive influx of Japanese military personnel in anticipation of the inevitable US invasion. As the Japanese military moved in, the civilians were forced out and no one has lived there since. Control of the island was wrested from the Japanese in the five-week Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945. Said battle was one of the bloodiest in the Pacific theater in WWII.

61 Quick flight : LAM

To be on the lam is to be in flight, to have escaped from prison. “On the lam” is American slang that originated at the end of the 19th century. The word “lam” also means to “beat” or “thrash”, as in “lambaste”. So “on the lam” might derive from the phrase “to beat it, to scram”.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 __ Plaines: Chicago suburb : DES
4 J. Edgar Hoover Building org. : THE FBI
10 Catch : TRAP
14 Suffix with hero : -INE
15 Sea between Greece and Turkey : AEGEAN
16 Dutch South African : BOER
17 They’re ominous : DARK CLOUDS
19 Decent-sized lot : ACRE
20 “No more, thanks” : I’M GOOD
21 End of many long weekends: Abbr. : MON
23 Ad __ committee : HOC
24 Many a “Twilight” character : TEEN
25 Gulf State native : OMANI
27 That, in Oaxaca : ESA
28 They’re luminous : LIGHTNING BOLTS
32 Word in a January song : AULD
33 Wood strip : SLAT
34 Song first sung by Ethel Waters at Harlem’s Cotton Club … and a hint to four other long answers : STORMY WEATHER
40 Flat-bottomed boat : SCOW
41 “Sesame Street” pal of Zoe : ELMO
42 They’re clamorous : THUNDERSHOWERS
49 “Jingle Bells” contraction : O’ER
50 Last Supper question : IS IT I?
51 “Ivy and __”: kid-lit series by Annie Barrows : BEAN
53 Infamous Amin : IDI
54 More than unfriendly : ICY
55 Breed of sheep : MERINO
57 Astrological transition point : CUSP
59 They’re ruinous : HAILSTONES
62 Wasatch Mountains resort : ALTA
63 “Twilight” vampire : EDWARD
64 Suffix with Brooklyn : -ESE
65 For fear that : LEST
66 Trounces : WHOMPS
67 Some NFL blockers : RTS

Down

1 Finished a job : DID IT
2 Dental layer : ENAMEL
3 Composer Rachmaninoff : SERGEI
4 Food truck fare : TACO
5 Believed : HELD
6 Swelled head : EGO
7 Pot-au-__: French stew : FEU
8 Outlaw : BAD MAN
9 Happy way to break out : IN SONG
10 Abbr. in an unfilled TV slot : TBA
11 New __, NY: home of Iona College : ROCHELLE
12 Ford’s first minivan : AEROSTAR
13 Like some concrete : PRECAST
18 Big ape : KONG
22 Bird’s beak : NIB
25 Sole : ONLY
26 Corn Belt region : MIDWEST
29 Guffaw syllable : HAR
30 Rum __ Tugger: “Cats” role : TUM
31 __Kosh B’gosh : OSH
34 Bus kiosk posting : SCHEDULE
35 Ones seeing things : TOURISTS
36 Dominate : OWN
37 K-12, in education : ELHI
38 Latin lover’s word : AMO
39 Parking violation risk : TOW
40 Showing no emotion : STOICAL
43 502, in old Rome : DII
44 Steer clear of : ESCHEW
45 Saudi Arabian capital : RIYADH
46 Iberian river to the Mediterranean : EBRO
47 Carl with nine Emmys : REINER
48 Most sensible : SANEST
52 Snoops (around) : NOSES
55 Car sticker no. : MSRP
56 Postings at an airline gate, for short : ETDS
58 Vanna’s partner : PAT
60 __ Jima : IWO
61 Quick flight : LAM

18 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword 5 Mar 20, Thursday”

  1. For Carrie, Wayne et al. It would please me no end if you would allow me to compile and
    send you a CD of Marty Robbins Western songs. If you don’t want to put your mailing
    address out on the Internet, either leave me a message at (337) 558-5543 or drop me a
    note at 2002 Chamblee Drive, Sulphur, LA 70665. I can guarantee the choice of songs
    and the quality of the sound, having made over 250 such items.

    1. John, how kind of you! I will see how my collection looks and send you a note too. Thank you!!🤗🎵🎵

  2. Fun puzzle. I didn’t know the river to the Mediterranean or the kid-lit series. Where they cross was my last blank. For some reason, I stuck in a B and I blinked. Shocked me. “Twilight” must be a TV show, though I never heard of it.

  3. 30:29 no errors…the SE corner really slowed me down for some reason.
    Your in a lane of traffic with several cars ahead of you and you are stopped at a red light…the light turns green and then and only then does a car in front of you put on their left turn signal…WHY DO PEOPLE DO THAT?

  4. I had to straighten out the “Ed Sullivan” clue answer (A really big “eschew” ha!) and that brought the last of this puzzle to a successful conclusion.

  5. I despise the despicable example of crosswordese that is elhi. No one EVER says elhi.

  6. Liked the theme.
    Had to Google for EDWARD and LAM. Thought they meant a quick airplane flight.
    Didn’t actually know WHOMPS, BEAN or AEROSTAR. Afterwards I looked up AEROSTAR, and there’s also a plane with that name.
    @Dave -you’re right. ELHI, EBRO, AEROSTAR and ALTA are words to learn just because they are half vowel, and, therefore, useful to crossword creators.

    1. The Piper Aerostar was was a very impressive twin engine turbo charged aircraft. It also had a very high accident rate, possibly to due low weight and high powered engines. I remember reading about crashes almost every time I picked up an aviation magazine, when I used to read those regularly.

      The Ford Aerostar is just a plain boring minivan.

  7. LAM is a quick flight.

    We had 2 omissions and 2 errors for a good 98%. Used GRAB for TRAP and
    didn’t know BEAN. Well satisfied with our effort. I picked up on the clue with
    the Ethel Waters song and got all of the other long answers ref. weather.

    Wayne, I am compiling the CD as we speak. Have not heard from Carrie.

  8. 6:17 was my time, and I too got stuck for a while on the EBRO/BEAN crossing, and also lucked out by sticking in B, mostly because I couldn’t think of any character name coming from any other letter. I suppose JEAN.

    I did like the weather theme… that helped me out quite a bit. Mostly happy with this puzzle.

  9. Did this Thursday puzzle at a leisurely pace while selling my honey – very good sales today. Got stuck at Zoe’s pal/parking violation risk with two errors: Tag instead of TOW. I never really watched Sesame street…and tow just did not come to mind, even though SHOGERS didn’t really make sense.

    Got lucky with BEAN and LAM and EDWARD and WHOMPS with the crosses. I actually saw several MERINO sheep up close, just before and some after they been sheared, when I visited Australia back in the late 90s. They’re kinda skittish, just after they get sheared 🙂

  10. Hi folks!!🦆

    No errors, but I did the SAME thing at that BEAN/EBRO intersection and guessed B correctly. I’m sure I’ve seen EBRO in puzzles before but I really wasn’t sure of it till coming here. 😶

    FWIW– I also dislike EL-HI, tho I get that it’s in the dictionary and works well in crosswords– I taught public school for 32 years and never once ran into the term!

    Be well ~~🍷

  11. 14 mins 13 sec, no errors; although, a few spaces left blank hid from me for a while, and, try as I might, SOBE would not come to me, so it took awhile to hunt that last E down, too.

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