LA Times Crossword 17 May 23, Wednesday

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Constructed by: Margaret Hurley & Barbara Lin
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: That Was Cool!

Themed answers are all clued with the word “SUPER”:

  • 36A “Nicely done!” and an apt description of 16-, 23-, 51-, and 59-Across : THAT WAS COOL!
  • 16A Super : THE CAT’S MEOW
  • 23A Super : OUT OF SIGHT
  • 51A Super : PEACHY KEEN
  • 59A Super : CRACKERJACK

Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers

Bill’s time: 5m 55s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Numbered work : OPUS

The Latin for “work” is “opus”, with the plural being “opera”. We sometimes use the plural “opuses” in English, but people do that just to annoy me …

10 Employee badges, for short : IDS

Identity document (ID)

13 1953 Alan Ladd Western : SHANE

The classic 1953 western movie “Shane” is based on the novel of the same name by Jack Schaefer published in 1949. Heading the cast is Alan Ladd in the title role, alongside Jean Arthur and Van Heflin. “Shane” was shot in the beautiful Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.

The last few years of actor Alan Ladd’s life were pretty rough. In 1962, he was found unconscious in a pool of blood with a bullet wound in his chest, an abortive suicide attempt. Two years later he was found dead, apparently having succumbed to an accidental overdose of drugs and sedatives. He was 50 years old.

14 Former “Weekend Today” co-host Hill : ERICA

Erica Hill was the co-anchor of “CBS This Morning”, and before that she was co-anchor of CBS’s “The Early Show”. Hill moved in 2008 to NBC News and co-hosted the weekend edition of “Today”. She moved to CNN in 2016.

16 Super : THE CAT’S MEOW

Something described as “the cat’s meow” is particularly fine, the best. The term was popularized and perhaps coined by Tad Dorgan, a cartoonist who was active in the early 20th century.

18 “Bring It on Home to Me” singer Cooke : SAM

Sam Cooke was a soul singer from Clarksdale, Mississippi. Cooke is considered by many to have been one of the founders of the soul genre. Cooke’s impressive list of hits includes “You Send Me”, “Chain Gang” and “Twistin’ the Night Away”. Cooke was only 33 years old when he died. He was shot after a drunken brawl by a motel manager in what was deemed by the courts to be a justifiable homicide.

The song “Bring It on Home to Me” was written and recorded by Sam Cooke in 1962. It was released as the B-side to “Having a Party”.

20 Civil rights org. founded by a group that included W.E.B. Du Bois and Ida B. Wells : NAACP

The full name of the NAACP, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, is remarkable in that it still uses the offensive term “colored people”. The NAACP was founded in 1909, by a group that included suffragette and journalist Mary White Ovington, wealthy socialist William English Walling, and civil rights activist Henry Moskowitz. Another member of the founding group was W. E. B. Du Bois, the first African-American to earn a doctorate at Harvard University. The date chosen for the founding of the NAACP was February 12th, 1909, the 100th anniversary of the birth of President Abraham Lincoln, the man most visibly associated with the emancipation of African-American slaves.

W. E. B. Du Bois was a sociologist and civil rights activist from Massachusetts. Du Bois was the first African American to receive a doctorate from Harvard, and went on to become a professor at Atlanta University. In 1909, he was a co-founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Ida B. Wells was an African-American journalist and leader of the civil rights movement. She published a pamphlet in 1892 called “Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases”, which publicized the horrors of lynching of African Americans by white mobs in the South.

22 “Legally Blonde” role for Reese : ELLE

“LEGALLY blonde” is a 2001 comedy film starring Reese Witherspoon as a girlish sorority president who heads to Harvard to earn a law degree. “LEGALLY blonde” was successful enough to warrant two sequels as well as a spin-off musical that played most successfully in London’s West End (for 974 performances).

27 Feature of an A-frame roof : SLANT

An A-frame house is one that has a steeply-angled roof, one forming the shape of the letter “A”. The A-frame design is popular in snowy regions, as the roof is so steeply pitched that it does not collect snow.

29 Genesis drummer Collins : PHIL

English musician Phil Collins is best known for his work as drummer with the rock group Genesis, as well as for his solo career. In fact, Collins is often grouped with Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson, two other artists who had tremendous solo success after careers with very well-known bands.

30 Wheels for the well-heeled : LIMO

The word “limousine” derives from the name of the French city of Limoges. The area around Limoges is called the Limousin, and it gave its name to a cloak hood worn by local shepherds. In early motor cars, a driver would sit outside in the weather while the passengers would sit in the covered compartment. The driver would often wear a limousin-style protective hood, giving rise to that type of transportation being called a “limousine”. Well, that’s how the story goes …

31 Feng shui force : CHI

Feng shui is the ancient Chinese tradition of arranging objects, buildings and other structures in a manner that is said to improve the lives of the individuals living in or using the space. “Feng shui” translates as “wind-water”, a reference to the belief that positive and negative life forces ride the wind and scatter, but are retained when they encounter water.

In Chinese culture, “qi” or “chi” is the life force in any living thing.

33 North Carolina college town : ELON

Elon is a city in the Piedmont region of North Carolina located close to the city of Burlington. Elon University is a private liberal arts school founded in 1889.

35 The guy for ewe? : RAM

An adult male sheep is a ram, although a castrated ram is known as a wether. An adult female is a ewe, and a young sheep is a lamb.

39 Gymnast Mary __ Retton : LOU

Mary Lou Retton is an Olympic champion gymnast from Fairmont, West Virginia. Retton won Olympic Individual All-Around gold in the 1984 games, making her the first female athlete to do so who wasn’t from Eastern Europe.

41 Rapper who plays Fin Tutuola : ICE-T

Rapper Ice-T must be tired of having his name come up as an answer in crossword puzzles (I know I am!). Born Tracy Marrow, Ice-T has been interested in acting for decades and made his film debut in the 1984 movie about breakdancing called “Breakin’”. He has also played Detective Fin Tutuola in the TV show “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” since the year 2000.

42 Topeka’s st. : KAN

Topeka is the capital of Kansas, and is located on the Kansas River in the northeast of the state. The name “Topeka” was chosen in 1855 and translates from the Kansa and the Ioway languages as “to dig good potatoes”. The reference isn’t to the common potato but rather to the herb known as the prairie potato (also “prairie turnip”), which was an important food for many Native Americans.

43 River of Florence : ARNO

The Arno is the principal river in the Tuscany region of Italy, and passes through the cities of Florence and Pisa. Famously the Arno flooded in 1966, the worst flood in the region for centuries. There were numerous deaths and extensive destruction of priceless art treasures, particularly in Florence.

47 Start of an encrypted web address : HTTPS

“http” are the first letters in many Internet links. “http” stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol. More secure and “safer” websites (like this one!) use links starting with “https”, which stands for “http secure”).

58 Wall St. debut : IPO

An initial public offering (IPO) is the very first offer of stock for sale by a company on the open market. In other words, an IPO marks the first time that a company is traded on a public exchange. Companies have an IPO to raise capital to expand (usually).

64 Arizona governor Hobbs : KATIE

Democrat Katie Hobbs was elected Governor of Arizona in the 2022 election, after narrowly defeating former TV anchor Kari Lake. Hobbs had previously served as Arizona’s Secretary of State from 2019. When she took office in 2023, Hobbs became the state’s fifth female governor, making Arizona the US state that has had the most women to hold that position.

68 Toe the line : OBEY

The idiomatic expression “to toe the line” means “to obey”. The etymology of the phrase is disputed, although it is likely to come from the Royal Navy. Barefooted sailors were required to stand to attention for inspection lined up along the seams for the wooden deck, hence “toeing the line”.

Down

2 Spanish rice dish : PAELLA

Paella is sometimes referred to as the Spanish national dish, but not by Spaniards. In Spain, paella is regarded as a typical regional dish from Valencia. The name “paella” means “frying pan” in Valencian, and is a reference to the shallow vessel traditionally used to cook the dish over an open fire.

11 Old Greek coin : DRACHMA

The Greek drachma was in use until it was replaced by the euro in 2002. As well as being Greece’s currency in modern times, the drachma was also used in ancient Greece.

13 Eye sores : STYES

A stye is a bacterial infection of the sebaceous glands at the base of the eyelashes, and is also known as a hordeolum.

17 Chinese philosophical concept : TAO

Taoism is a religion and philosophy that originated in ancient China. It has been connected to the development of martial arts. The Chinese martial arts are based on the idea of using the body’s natural movements to defend oneself. Taoist philosophy emphasizes the importance of being in tune with one’s body and mind, which is essential for martial arts training.

24 London’s Globe, for one : THEATRE

The Globe Theatre was built in London in 1599, and was used mainly for staging works by William Shakespeare and his theater company called the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. The theater was destroyed by fire in 1613. A second Globe was built on the site a year later, and it remained open until 1642. The original theater was reconstructed on a nearby site by the Thames and opened in 1997. I had the privilege of seeing a fabulous performance of “As You Like It” in Shakespeare’s Globe (as the new theater is called) about a decade ago. Seeing a play in that remarkable theater is tremendous entertainment, much recommended for anyone visiting London.

28 Pad __: stir-fried noodle dish : THAI

The delicious dish called pad Thai is a meld of stir-fried rice noodles with tamarind juice, red chili pepper plus a mix of vegetables and possibly tofu, meat or fish. It is usually topped with crushed peanuts, coriander and lime. The name “pad Thai” translates as “fried Thai-style”.

34 Trevor who hosted the “The Daily Show” from 2015 to 2022 : NOAH

Trevor Noah is an outstanding comedian from Johannesburg, South Africa. Noah took over as host of the Comedy Channel’s “The Daily Show” after Jon Stewart retired. Noah can speak several languages, including English, Xhosa, Zulu, Sotho, Afrikaans, and German.

37 __ sauce : WEAK

Someone who is described by the slang term “weak sauce” is no fun at all, not cool.

40 No-bake dessert with a cookie crust : OREO PIE

An oreo pie is a no-bake dessert. One recipe calls for an Oreo cookie crumb pie crust that isn’t baked, and rather set by chilling it in the freezer. The pie crust is filled with a mixture of cream cheese, powdered sugar and crushed Oreo cookies.

44 Halloween mo. : OCT

All Saints’ Day is November 1st each year. The day before All Saints’ Day is All Hallows’ Eve, better known by the Scottish term “Halloween”.

46 Former German chancellor Angela : MERKEL

The formidable politician Angela Merkel was first elected Chancellor of Germany, the country’s head of state, in 2005. She was the first female German Chancellor. When she chaired the G8 in 2007 she became only the second woman to do so, after the UK’s Margaret Thatcher. Merkel grew up in East Germany under Communist rule.

48 Diatribe : TIRADE

The term “tirade” describes a long and vehement speech, and is a word that came into English from French. “Tirade” can have the same meaning in French, but is also the word for “volley”. So, a tirade is a “volley” of words.

A diatribe is a bitter discourse. The term “diatribe” comes from the Greek “diatribein” meaning “to wear away”.

52 Emmy-winning series starring Jean Smart as a comedian : HACKS

“Hacks” is a comedy-drama TV series featuring Jean Smart as legendary stand-up Deborah Vance, and Hannah Einbender as young comedy writer Ava Daniels. The show premiered on HBO Max in 2021.

Actress Jean Smart is best known perhaps for her comedic roles, for example Charlene Frazier on CBS’s “Designing Women”. She also did a great job playing the dramatic role of First Lady Martha Logan on Fox’s “24”, and the Governor of Hawaii in the remake by CBS of “Hawaii Five-0”. Smart was married to fellow actor Richard Gilliland, whom she met while he was playing J.D. Shackelford on “Designing Women”.

53 Born, in Bordeaux : NEE

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

57 Online marketplace with holiday homes : VRBO

VRBO is an online marketplace for vacation rentals. The initialism stands for Vacation Rentals by Owner. VRBO was founded in 1995, and is headquartered in Austin.

61 Picnicked : ATE

Our term “picnic” comes from the French word that now has the same meaning, namely “pique-nique”. The original “pique-nique” was a fashionable potluck affair, and not necessarily held outdoors.

62 Spy org. : CIA

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is the successor to the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) formed during WWII. The CIA was chartered by the National Security Act of 1947. The organization is often referred to familiarly as “the Company”.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Numbered work : OPUS
5 Gushed (about) : RAVED
10 Employee badges, for short : IDS
13 1953 Alan Ladd Western : SHANE
14 Former “Weekend Today” co-host Hill : ERICA
15 Put to the test : TRY
16 Super : THE CAT’S MEOW
18 “Bring It on Home to Me” singer Cooke : SAM
19 Scolds loudly : YELLS AT
20 Civil rights org. founded by a group that included W.E.B. Du Bois and Ida B. Wells : NAACP
22 “Legally Blonde” role for Reese : ELLE
23 Super : OUT OF SIGHT
27 Feature of an A-frame roof : SLANT
29 Genesis drummer Collins : PHIL
30 Wheels for the well-heeled : LIMO
31 Feng shui force : CHI
33 North Carolina college town : ELON
35 The guy for ewe? : RAM
36 “Nicely done!” and an apt description of 16-, 23-, 51-, and 59-Across : THAT WAS COOL!
39 Gymnast Mary __ Retton : LOU
41 Rapper who plays Fin Tutuola : ICE-T
42 Topeka’s st. : KAN
43 River of Florence : ARNO
45 “No __ done” : HARM
47 Start of an encrypted web address : HTTPS
51 Super : PEACHY KEEN
54 Put on the payroll : HIRE
55 Ish : SORTA
56 Dreamy state : REVERIE
58 Wall St. debut : IPO
59 Super : CRACKERJACK
63 Nada : NIL
64 Arizona governor Hobbs : KATIE
65 __ well: is a good sign : BODES
66 Hair product : GEL
67 Fantastic bargain : STEAL
68 Toe the line : OBEY

Down

1 “Blast it!” : OH HELL!
2 Spanish rice dish : PAELLA
3 Relax, as fists : UNCLENCH
4 Sailing settings : SEAS
5 Regain one’s strength : REST UP
6 Sleeve : ARM
7 Go head-to-head : VIE
8 Prefix with footprint : ECO-
9 Occurs to, with “on” : DAWNS …
10 Proclamation on some birth announcements : IT’S A GIRL!
11 Old Greek coin : DRACHMA
12 Runny nose or headache, maybe : SYMPTOM
13 Eye sores : STYES
17 Chinese philosophical concept : TAO
21 Have a runny nose or headache, maybe : AIL
24 London’s Globe, for one : THEATRE
25 Liquids that may be herb-infused : OILS
26 Group of sheep : FLOCK
28 Pad __: stir-fried noodle dish : THAI
32 Like cheap wool : ITCHY
34 Trevor who hosted the “The Daily Show” from 2015 to 2022 : NOAH
36 Sushi option : TUNA ROLL
37 __ sauce : WEAK
38 Like some training : ON-THE-JOB
39 Expiring, as a subscription : LAPSING
40 No-bake dessert with a cookie crust : OREO PIE
44 Halloween mo. : OCT
46 Former German chancellor Angela : MERKEL
48 Diatribe : TIRADE
49 Expensive : PRICEY
50 Goes after : SEEKS
52 Emmy-winning series starring Jean Smart as a comedian : HACKS
53 Born, in Bordeaux : NEE
57 Online marketplace with holiday homes : VRBO
60 Rodent or snitch : RAT
61 Picnicked : ATE
62 Spy org. : CIA

12 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword 17 May 23, Wednesday”

  1. 11:53, no errors. 1D’s fill OH HELL seems to be on a different level than the clue “Blast it!”. I was thinking something like SHUCKS.

  2. This one went pretty well except I never heard of the term “weak sauce”,
    so I had to hit the reveal site to come up with that one.

  3. Got the theme early and it did help in some areas. But I had OUTTA SIGHT not Out Of Sight and didn’t know Elon,, so I had a brain fart there for a while. And fortunately Weak Sauce was solved by the crosses. Never ever heard of that!!!
    Overall fun puzzle.

  4. Yep, OH HELL and WEAK SAUCE seem out of place or out of character?

    Never heard of VRBO until they showed up as ads in UTUBE. they are like Progressive ads or like the old MY PILLOW ads.. they keep showing up.

    1. @Mike – I used VRBO before airB&B existed, before there were apps and when it was called Vacation Rental by Owner and the acronym was spelled out rather than pronounced as a word. It’s been around for ever.

      I guess I’m a weak sauce, having never heard that term.

  5. I’ve heard WEAK sauce but I had to go through most of the alphabet before it clicked for me (surely it isn’t BEAK sauce?)

    6:07

  6. OK puzzle and not-too-bad theme. Finished with no errors or lookups but like most, had trouble with WEAKSAUCE, having never heard it. Had to try alphabet search for THAT….., so settled on the correct answer.

  7. 8 mins 6 seconds, no issues or errors. Theme was actually fun, and not a groaner. More like these, please, and skip the “too-clever-by-half” grids.

  8. 8:44 – no errors, lookups, or false starts.

    New: ERICA Hill, “Bring It on Home to Me,” “Fin Tutuola,” WEAK sauce (I guess it’s the opposite of “secret” sauce?).

    The theme answers were “super”-easy to figure out.

    Duplicate cluing with “Runny nose or headache, maybe.”

  9. Distracted Wednesday for me; took 25:55 with no peeks or errors, but stuff kept popping up for me to do. Didn’t know ERICA, ICE T or VRBO, but crosses made those no issue.

    Kinda sad they couldn’t work in THE BEES KNEES, but oh well.

    Back to stuff to do…

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