LA Times Crossword Answers 29 May 13, Wednesday

CROSSWORD SETTER: Jerome Gunderson & Marti DuGuay-Carpenter
THEME: Anagrams I Fled … today’s themed answers all start with an anagram of the letters IFLED:

17A. Hit a ball caught by Ted Williams, say FLIED TO LEFT
29A. Outdoor sport with sticks FIELD HOCKEY
45A. Tried to collect unemployment benefits, say FILED A CLAIM
60A. Longtime Cuban leader FIDEL CASTRO

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 09m 10s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. President of Syria ASSAD
Dr. Bashar al-Assad is the current President of the Syrian Arab Republic and the son of the former President Hafez al-Assad whom he replaced in 2001. President Assad is a medical doctor, speaks fluent English and conversational French. Assad was studying ophthalmology in London when he met his wife, who is an Englishwoman.

6. Foreigner, to a Polynesian HAOLE
The Hawaiian term “haole” is used to refer to a foreigner, particular a Caucasian.

11. Many SSI recipients SRS
Many seniors (srs.) receive Social Security Income (SSI).

The Social Security Administration (SSA) was of course set up as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. The first person to receive a monthly retirement benefit was Ida May Fuller of Vermont who received her first check for the sum of $22.54 after having contributed for three years through payroll taxes. The New Deal turned out to be a good deal for Ms. Fuller, as she lived to 100 years of age and received a total benefit of almost $23,000, whereas her three years of contributions added up to just $24.75.

14. Rich kid in “Nancy” comics ROLLO
“Nancy” is a comic strip that was originally called “Fritzi Ritz” when it first appeared in 1938. Nancy Ritz is a mischievous young girl, and Rollo is a friendly rich kid.

15. K.T. of country OSLIN
K. T. Oslin is best known for her string of country hits in the eighties.

17. Hit a ball caught by Ted Williams, say FLIED TO LEFT
As well as playing in left field for the Boston Red Sox, Ted Williams served as a pilot in the Marine Corps in World War II and the Korean War.

19. Future flounders ROE
Flounder are flatfish that are typically found lying on the bottom of estuaries and coastal lagoons. Just after it hatches, a young flunder has eyes on either side of its brain. As the fish matures, one of these eyes migrates to the other side of its body. The adult flounder then has two eyes which face up as the fish lies camouflaged on the ocean floor.

20. Motorola smartphone DROID
The Droid is a smartphone from Motorola that is noted for running Google’s Android operating system.

27. Seat of Garfield County, Oklahoma ENID
Enid, Oklahoma takes its name from the old railroad station around which the city developed. Back in 1889, that train stop was called Skeleton Station. An official who didn’t like the name changed it to Enid Station, using a character from Alfred Lord Tennyson’s “Idylls of the King”. Maybe if he hadn’t changed the name, the city of Enid would now be called Skeleton, Oklahoma! Enid has the nickname “Queen Wheat City” because is has a huge capacity for storing grain, the third largest grain storage capacity in the world.

28. “Mazel __!” TOV
“Tov” is the Hebrew word for “good”, as in “mozel tov”, meaning “good luck”.

29. Outdoor sport with sticks FIELD HOCKEY
The term “field” hockey is used primarily in North America, differentiating the sport from “ice” hockey. Elsewhere in the world, field is known simply as “hockey”. Field hockey is Pakistan’s national sport.

32. Rock or horse follower OPERA
“Horse opera” was a slang term for a western movie or show.

34. Firewood wood BEECH
Beech wood is prized as firewood as it burns for many hours with a bright flame and is easily split.

51. Polluted Asian sea ARAL
The Aral Sea is a great example of how man can have a devastating effect on his environment. In the early sixties the Aral Sea covered 68,000 square miles of Central Asia. Soviet Union irrigation projects drained the lake to such an extent that today the total area is less than 7,000 square miles, with 90% of the lake now completely dry. Sad …

52. “The Galloping Gourmet” KERR
Graham Kerr is an English celebrity cook who had a very popular TV show called “The Galloping Gourmet”. Kerr was noted for the liberal use of butter, cream, fat and wine in his recipes. However, after his wife had a stroke followed by a heart attack in 1986, Kerr completely changed his style of cooking, He calls his new style of cuisine “Minimax”, minimizing the fat and cholesterol content while maximizing the aroma, color, texture and taste.

53. “… baked in __” A PIE
“Sing a Song of Sixpence” is an English nursery rhyme that dates back to the 1700s. In the rhyme there are a couple of lines that go :

Four and twenty blackbirds
Baked in a pie

This seems to be a reference to the practice in the 16th century of “baking” live birds into a pie for special occasions. When the crust was cut open the birds would fly away, much to the amusement of the diners.

60. Longtime Cuban leader FIDEL CASTRO
Fidel Castro was very active in the chess world, both as a player and as a tournament organizer and sponsor. In 2002 Castro hosted a massive chess tournament in Havana with over 1500 participants. The collection of amateurs and masters played simultaneously in an exhibition that was the largest ever seen in the world.

64. Barcelona bear OSO
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain, after the capital Madrid. Barcelona is the largest European city that sits on the Mediterranean coast. It is also the capital city of the autonomous community of Catalonia.

67. Itch YEN
The word “yen”, meaning “urge”, has been around in English since the very early 1900s. It comes from the earlier word “yin” imported from Chinese, which was used in English to describe an intense craving for opium!

Down
1. Weimaraner warning ARF!
The Weimaraner was originally bred for hunting large game such as bears, boars and deer, and is now classed as a gun dog. The breed gets its name from Karl August, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, as he was big into hunting.

2. San Juan sun SOL
San Juan is the capital city of Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1521 by the Spanish, who called it “Cuidad de Puerto Rico” (Rich Port City).

5. Ignoramus DODO
A dodo is a foolish person, and dodo is word that comes into English from the Portuguese “doudo”. “Doudo” was a slang term used by Portuguese sailors for the extinct bird that we now know as the dodo.

7. Syst. with hand signals ASL
It’s really quite unfortunate that American Sign Language (ASL) and British Sign Language (BSL) are very different, and someone who has learned to sign in one cannot understand someone signing in the other.

8. Poisonous flowering shrub OLEANDER
The oleander shrub or tree is extremely toxic, especially to humans and dogs. That said, rodents and birds seem to be relatively insensitive to the toxic compounds found in the plant.

10. Tolkien’s Treebeard et al. ENTS
Treebeard is the elder of the tree-like people called Ents in J. R. R. Tolkien’s series of novels set in Middle-earth.

12. Dugout newcomer ROOKIE
The term “rookie”, used for a raw recruit, first appeared in Rudyard Kipling’s collection of songs and poems called the “Barrack-Room Ballads” originally published in 1892.

18. Polynesian carving TIKI
A tiki is a large carving of wood or stone resembling a human form, found in Polynesian cultures. The carvings often mark out boundaries of sites sacred to the locals.

22. Computer wonk TECHIE
A “wonk” is an overly studious person. It is an American slang term that has been around at least since 1954.

24. Kachina doll maker HOPI
Kachina dolls are wooden figures representing various Hopi spirits and deities. Traditionally, Kachina dolls were made by men and then passed on to the daughters of the village in a ceremony feting a particular spirit.

26. Me. retailer, initially LLB
L.L.Bean (note the lack of spaces in the company name) was founded back in 1912 in Freeport, Maine as a company selling its own line of waterproof boots. The founder, Leon Leonwood Bean, gave his name to the enterprise. Right from the start, L.L.Bean focused on mail-order and sold from a circular he distributed and then from a catalog. Defects in the initial design led to 90% of the first boots sold being returned, and the company made good on its guarantee to replace them or give back the money paid.

30. Bray beginning HEE
A “bray” is the sound a donkey: “hee-haw”.

31. Philosopher William of __, known for his “razor” OCCAM
Ockham’s Razor (also Occam’s Razor) is a principle in philosophy and science that basically states that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. This explanation is a corollary to the more exact statement of the principle, that one shouldn’t needlessly use assumptions in explaining something. The principle was developed by 14th-century logician and Franciscan Friar William of Ockham (or “Occam” in Latin). The principle is dubbed a “razor” as it is used as a philosophical tool used to cut out absurd and spurious reasoning in an argument.

36. Cavity filler’s org. ADA
The American Dental Association (ADA) is the largest and oldest national dental association in the world. Today the ADA is based in Chicago, but the association was founded in Niagara Falls, New York in 1859. The ADA started out as a group of 26 dentists and now has more than 152,000 members.

40. World Golf Hall of Famer Isao AOKI
Isao Aoki is one of Japan’s greatest golfers, now playing on the senior circuit. Aoki’s best finish in a major tournament was runner-up to Jack Nicklaus in the 1980 US Open.

41. Swift sled LUGE
A luge is a small sled used by one or two people, on which one lies face up and feet first. The luge can be compared to the skeleton, a sled for only one person and on which the rider lies face down and goes down the hill head first.

45. Oxymoronically named British DJ __ Slim FATBOY
Fatboy Slim is an English musician who is best known now as a disc jockey. Before adopting the Fatboy Slim moniker, he was known as Norman Cook. Cook first gained prominence as a member of the rock band called the Housemartins, who had a number one hit with a cover version of “Caravan of Love” in 1986.

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

53. Greek fable writer AESOP
Aesop is remembered today for his famous fables. Aesop lived in Ancient Greece, probably around the sixth century BC. Supposedly he was born a slave, somehow became a free man, but then met with a sorry end. Aesop was sent to the city of Delphi on a diplomatic mission but instead insulted the Delphians. He was tried on a trumped-up charge of stealing from a temple, sentenced to death and was thrown off a cliff.

56. Garnish for a Moscow Mule LIME
A Moscow Mule is a cocktail made from vodka, ginger beer and lime.

62. Bug-eyed TV dog REN
“The Ren and Stimpy Show” is an animated television show that ran on Nickelodeon from 1991 to 1996. The title characters are Marland “Ren” Höek, a scrawny Chihuahua, and Stimpson J. Cat, a rotund Manx cat. Not my cup of tea …

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. President of Syria ASSAD
6. Foreigner, to a Polynesian HAOLE
11. Many SSI recipients SRS
14. Rich kid in “Nancy” comics ROLLO
15. K.T. of country OSLIN
16. Bounce HOP
17. Hit a ball caught by Ted Williams, say FLIED TO LEFT
19. Future flounders ROE
20. Motorola smartphone DROID
21. On the line AT STAKE
23. Bar order in a very small glass SHOT
25. Potter’s oven KILN
27. Seat of Garfield County, Oklahoma ENID
28. “Mazel __!” TOV
29. Outdoor sport with sticks FIELD HOCKEY
32. Rock or horse follower OPERA
34. Firewood wood BEECH
35. Bug on the phone WIRETAP
38. Solo performance RECITAL
42. Reference ending -PEDIA
44. Grammar school sequence AEIOU
45. Tried to collect unemployment benefits, say FILED A CLAIM
50. UPS delivery PKG
51. Polluted Asian sea ARAL
52. “The Galloping Gourmet” KERR
53. “… baked in __” A PIE
54. Garage event TAG SALE
57. Bank holding MONEY
59. Short life story? BIO
60. Longtime Cuban leader FIDEL CASTRO
64. Barcelona bear OSO
65. Get a chuckle out of AMUSE
66. Showed dissatisfaction, fan-style BOOED
67. Itch YEN
68. Move to new soil REPOT
69. Run through 57-Across SPEND

Down
1. Weimaraner warning ARF!
2. San Juan sun SOL
3. Made room on a crowded bench SLID OVER
4. Heads-up ALERT
5. Ignoramus DODO
6. Sweatshirt with a head cover HOODIE
7. Syst. with hand signals ASL
8. Poisonous flowering shrub OLEANDER
9. Hitchhiker’s hope LIFT
10. Tolkien’s Treebeard et al. ENTS
11. Got smaller SHRANK
12. Dugout newcomer ROOKIE
13. Quick SPEEDY
18. Polynesian carving TIKI
22. Computer wonk TECHIE
23. Stash STOW
24. Kachina doll maker HOPI
26. Me. retailer, initially LLB
29. Destined FATED
30. Bray beginning HEE
31. Philosopher William of __, known for his “razor” OCCAM
33. Drives away REPELS
36. Cavity filler’s org. ADA
37. Paid for everyone, as the tab PICKED UP
39. Step stealthily, informally TIPPYTOE
40. World Golf Hall of Famer Isao AOKI
41. Swift sled LUGE
43. Bar pint ALE
45. Oxymoronically named British DJ __ Slim FATBOY
46. Poker declaration I RAISE
47. Coral reef enclosure LAGOON
48. Sleeve band ARMLET
49. Camaro __-Z IROC
53. Greek fable writer AESOP
55. Miles away AFAR
56. Garnish for a Moscow Mule LIME
58. Arrests NABS
61. That, in Spanish ESO
62. Bug-eyed TV dog REN
63. Peculiar ODD

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