LA Times Crossword Answers 26 Jul 13, Friday

CROSSWORD SETTER: George Shayler
THEME: Turn “It” Around … each of today’s themed answers is a common phrase, but with the letters “IT” turned around to suit the clue:

20A. Sloppily kept tents? CAMPING STIES (from “camping sites”)
33A. Low clouds on an East Asian island? TAIWAN STRATI (from “Taiwan Strait”)
40A. Conditions of kids’ shoes, too often? UNTIED STATES (from “United States”)

54A. Recover from a setback, and a hint to 20-, 33- and 40-Across TURN IT AROUND

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 20m 44s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 2 … ATACAMA (Atacasa), MOTA (Sota)

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. “Little House on the Prairie” merchant __ Oleson NELS
On the iconic television show “Little House on the Prairie”, the proprietor of Oleson’s Mercantile is Nels Oleson, who was played by actor Richard Bull.

9. Genoan chiefs of old DOGES
Doges were the elected chief magistrates of the former republics of Venice and Genoa.

15. Poet Teasdale SARA
Sara Teasdale was a poet from St. Louis, Missouri although she spent much of her adult life in New York City. Examples of Teasdale’s most famous poems are “There Will Come Soft Rains” and “I Shall Not Care”. Teasdale committed suicide in 1933 by taking an overdose of sleeping pills.

19. Award for John le Carré EDGAR
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards (the Edgars) are presented annually by the Mystery Writers of America.

John Le Carré is the pen name of David Cornwell, an English author famous for his spy novels. Cornwell worked for British Intelligence during the fifties and sixties, even as he was writing his spy thrillers. He left MI6 in 1963 soon after his most famous novel, “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold”, became such a great success.

23. Tropical rainforest critter IGUANA
An iguana is a lizard, and as such is cold-blooded. There are times when pet iguanas need heat from an IR lamp to maintain body temperature.

24. Pacific coast desert ATACAMA
Even deserts get rain at some point in the year, with very few exceptions. One of those exceptions is the Atacama Desert in South America, which receives no rain at all.

28. Top-selling 1980s game console NES
The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was sold in North America from 1985 to to 1995. The NES was the biggest selling gaming console of the era.

29. Key of Brahms’s Piano Sonata No. 1 C MAJ
The Piano Sonata No. 1 in C major was the very first work published by the composer Johannes Brahms, in 1853.

Johannes Brahms was a leading German composer during the Romantic period. Brahms is one of the “Three Bs”, often grouped with Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven.

32. Pill bug or gribble ISOPOD
Isopods are small crustaceans (meaning they have exoskeletons), with seven pairs of legs. Examples would be woodlice and pill bugs. The name “isopod” comes from the Greek “iso” (same) and “pod” (foot).

33. Low clouds on an East Asian island? TAIWAN STRATI (from “Taiwan Strait”)
Stratus clouds are very common, and as they are wider than they are tall and flat along the bottom, we might just see them as haze in a featureless sky above us. Stratus clouds are basically the same as fog, but off the ground. Indeed, many stratus clouds are formed when morning fog lifts into the air as the ground heats up.

The Taiwan Strait is the body of water that separates Taiwan from mainland China. The strait is just over 100 miles wide, and there have been plans made to link the mainland city of Fuzhou with the city of Taipei in Taiwan. However, given the chilly political relationship between mainland China (the People’s Republic of China) and Taiwan (the Republic of China), it seems unlikely construction will start soon. If a tunnel was built, it would far exceed any man-made tunnel that exists in the world today.

35. Genesis wife LEAH
Leah was the older sister of Rachel and the first wife of Jacob. Leah was also mother of six of the twelve tribes of Israel as she was mother of six of Jacob’s sons (she also had one daughter).

38. Prior to, to Prior ERE
Matthew Prior was a poet from England.

39. Louisiane, e.g. ETAT
In French, Louisiana (Louisiane) is a state (état).

45. “A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy” author STERNE
Laurence Sterne is best known for his novel, “The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman”. It is an epic work, published in nine volumes over ten years.

47. “Ta-ta” BYE
An Englishman might say “ta-ta” or “cheerio” instead of “goodbye”. Well, supposedly so …

52. Cooking surface TEFLON
Teflon is a brand name for the polymer called PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene). Teflon is used as a coating for nonstick pans, a lubricant in machinery and as a graft material in surgery.

57. “Why Can’t I?” singer Liz PHAIR
Liz Phair is a rock singer from New Haven, Connecticut. She started out in the industry releasing homemade tapes under the name Girly Sound.

60. “I’ll say!” AMEN!
The word “amen” is translated as “so be it”. “Amen” is said to be of Hebrew origin, but it is likely to be also influenced by Aramaic and Arabic.

61. Language written right to left URDU
Urdu is one of the two official languages of Pakistan (the other being English), and is one of 22 scheduled languages in India. Urdu partly developed from Persian and is written from right to left.

62. Teegarden of “Friday Night Lights” AIMEE
Aimee Teegarden is an actress famous for appearing in the TV series “Friday Night Lights”, in which she played Julie Taylor.

64. Troon turndowns NAES
Troon is a town on the west coast of Scotland just north of Glasgow. One of Troon’s claims to fame is the Royal Troon golf course which regularly hosts the British Open Golf Championship.

65. Sporty Nissans Z CARS
The Nissan Z car is a whole series of sports cars that was introduced in 1969. The first Z-car was sold in Japan by Nissan as the Fairlady Z and exported as the Datsun 240Z. There have been more Nissan Z Cars sold than any other sportscar in the world. Hard to believe, but over 2 million have been sold to date.

66. Austen heroine EMMA
I just listened to one of my favorite Jane Austen novels on Audio Book recently, “Emma”, the tale of Emma Woodhouse and the wonderful George Knightley. At the end of the tale Emma marries Knightley and her young friend Harriet marries Robert Martin, who had been trying to get Harriet’s attention practically from page one of the novel!

Jane Austen is a favorite author of mine, and I have been lucky enough to have visited many of the sites in England that have been associated with her life. One of these sites is a large cottage in the village of Chawton in Hampshire, England. Austen moved to Chawton from Bath and there wrote and published her most famous novels, including “Sense and Sensibility”, “Pride and Prejudice” and “Mansfield Park”.

67. London flat, perhaps TYRE
The British spelling to “tyre” for what we call a “tire” here in North America was indeed the original spelling. However, the English started to use “tire” in the 17th century, and then shifted back to the current “tyre” in the 19th century.

Down
1. Vitamin in liver NIACIN
Niacin is also known as vitamin B3. A deficiency of niacin causes the disease pellagra. Pellagra is often described by “the four Ds”, the symptoms being diarrhea, dermatitis, dementia and death.

3. Substance in acid tests LITMUS
Litmus is a mixture of naturally-occurring dyes that responds to acidity by changing color. Litmus has been around a long time, first used around 1300 by the Spanish alchemist Arnaldus de Villa Nova.

5. Earthquake consequence TSUNAMI
“Tsunami” is a Japanese word meaning “harbor wave”.

8. It may be corkscrew-shaped PASTA
Rotini is the corkscrew-shaped pasta that is often used in pasta salads.

11. Ta-ta, to texters GTG
Got to go (“GTG” in textspeak)

12. Cheer competitor ERA
Cheer and Era are laundry detergents

13. Genealogically-based patriotic org. SAR
The Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) is an organization that was founded in Fraunces Tavern in New York City in 1889, with William Osborn McDowell being the driving force in setting up the group. The following year, McDowell worked with six women to set up the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). Membership to the SAR is open to any male of sufficient age who can demonstrate descent from someone who actively supported the American Revolution.

21. Andean native INCA
Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro discovered the Incas in 1526, marking the beginning of the end for an ancient civilization that was to be ravaged by brutal Spanish colonists and by imported smallpox. The last leader of the Inca was Atahualpa. Pizarro staged a mock trial and then condemned Atahualpa to execution by burning. A Spanish friar intervened on behalf of the condemned man, as Atahualpa believed that if he was burned his soul would not move on to the afterlife. Pizarro, was kind enough to have Atahualpa garroted instead.

The Andes is the longest continuous chain of mountains in the world, running right down the length of the west coast of South America for about 4,300 miles. The highest peak in the range is Mt. Aconcagua, at an elevation of 22,841 feet. Interestingly, the peak of Mt. Chimborazo in Ecuador is the furthest point on the Earth’s surface from the center of the planet. That’s because of the equatorial “bulge” around the Earth’s “waist”.

22. Medical office closing? -ITIS
The suffix “-itis” is used to denote inflammation, as in laryngitis (inflammation of the larynx) and sinusitis (inflammation of the sinuses).

26. Manny who ranks third in MLB lifetime pinch hits MOTA
Manny Mota is a retired MLB outfielder who has been coaching for the Dodgers since 1980. Mota’s tenure with the Dodgers is the second longest in Major League Baseball history.

27. Colliery entry ADIT
An adit is specific type of mine access, a horizontal shaft that extends into the mine. This can be compared with the more traditional vertical shaft that is used for access into most mines. Adits make sense when the ore is located inside a mountain or hill, as opposed to “underground”, as they allow the mine entrances to be on the valley floor.

31. Horseshoes-like game JARTS
Jarts are a brand name of lawn darts.

34. Biweekly tide NEAP
Tides of course are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon on the oceans. At neap tide, the smaller gravitational effect of the sun cancels out some of the moon’s effect. At spring tide, the sun and the moon’s gravitational forces act in concert causing more extreme movement of the oceans.

36. With 17-Across, intermission music ENTR’-
(17. See 36-Down -ACTE)
The term entr’acte comes to us from French, and is the interval between two acts (“entre” deux “actes”) of a theatrical performance. It often describes some entertainment provided during that interval.

37. Fits to __ A TEE
The expression “to a T” can also be written as “to a tee”, and has been around at least since 1693.

42. Ruminants with racks DEER
A “rack” is a pair of antlers.

43. Oberon’s queen TITANIA
Oberon and Titania are the King and Queen of the fairies in Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”.

44. Cabinet dept. ENER
The US Department of Energy (DOE) came into being largely as a result of the 1973 oil crisis. The DOE was founded in 1977 by the Carter administration. The DOE is responsible for regulating the production of nuclear power, and it is also responsible for the nation’s nuclear weapons.

In the Westminster system, the Cabinet is a group of sitting politicians chosen by the Prime Minister to head up government departments and also to participate collectively in major governmental decisions in all areas. In the US system, the Cabinet is made up not of sitting politicians, but rather of non-legislative individuals who are considered to have expertise in a particular area. The Cabinet members in the US system tend to have more of an advisory role to the President, in their areas of expertise.

47. Disc storage format BLU-RAY
A Blu-ray disc looks just like a standard DVD or CD, but it has a lot more capacity for data storage making it an ideal medium for high-definition movies. The name “Blu-ray” comes from the “blue laser” used to read the disc, unlike a standard DVD player that uses a “red laser”.

51. Dumbledore’s slayer SNAPE
Severus Snape is a character in the Harry Potter novels, played by the wonderful Alan Rickman on the big screen.

Dumbledore is the headmaster of the school for wizards called Hogwarts, in the Harry Potter universe. The “Harry Potter” books were of course written by J. K. Rowling, and she chose the name Dumbledore as it is an Early English word for a bumblebee. Apparently she pictured him wandering around, humming to himself.

55. Quran authority IMAM
An imam is a Muslim leader, often the person in charge of a mosque or perhaps a Muslim community.

The Koran is also known as the Qur’an in English, a transliteration of the Arabic name for the holy text of the Muslim faith. The literal translation of “Koran” is “the recitation”.

57. Bolivia’s La __ PAZ
The administrative capital of Bolivia, La Paz, is officially named Nuestra Senora de La Paz (Our Lady of Peace). La Paz is the seat of the Bolivian government, even though the legal capital of the country is Quito.

58. Minute Maid brand HI-C
Hi-C orange drink was created in 1946, and introduced to the market in 1948, initially in the south of the country. The name Hi-C was chosen to emphasize the high vitamin C content in the drink, as it contained added ascorbic acid (vitamin C).

In the mid-forties a process was developed to concentrate orange juice into a powder, the intent being to make it available to the armed forces. When WWII came to an end the government’s need for the product went away, so Florida Foods Corporation was set up to market orange juice concentrate (rather than powder) to the public. This new concentrate was given the name “Minute Maid” implying that juice could be prepared quickly by simple dilution.

59. GP’s gp. AMA
The American Medical Association (AMA) was founded in 1847 at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. The first female member was allowed to join the AMA in 1868, but the first African American members weren’t admitted until one hundred years later, in 1968.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. “Little House on the Prairie” merchant __ Oleson NELS
5. Bit of trickery TRAP
9. Genoan chiefs of old DOGES
14. Part of many co. names INIT
15. Poet Teasdale SARA
16. Far beyond the norm ULTRA
17. See 36-Down -ACTE
18. Reunion nicknames UNCS
19. Award for John le Carré EDGAR
20. Sloppily kept tents? CAMPING STIES (from “camping sites”)
23. Tropical rainforest critter IGUANA
24. Pacific coast desert ATACAMA
28. Top-selling 1980s game console NES
29. Key of Brahms’s Piano Sonata No. 1 C MAJ
32. Pill bug or gribble ISOPOD
33. Low clouds on an East Asian island? TAIWAN STRATI (from “Taiwan Strait”)
35. Genesis wife LEAH
38. Prior to, to Prior ERE
39. Louisiane, e.g. ETAT
40. Conditions of kids’ shoes, too often? UNTIED STATES (from “United States”)
45. “A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy” author STERNE
46. Doctor’s specialty? SPIN
47. “Ta-ta” BYE
50. Locks without keys TRESSES
52. Cooking surface TEFLON
54. Recover from a setback, and a hint to 20-, 33- and 40-Across TURN IT AROUND
57. “Why Can’t I?” singer Liz PHAIR
60. “I’ll say!” AMEN!
61. Language written right to left URDU
62. Teegarden of “Friday Night Lights” AIMEE
63. Equal: Pref. PARI-
64. Troon turndowns NAES
65. Sporty Nissans Z CARS
66. Austen heroine EMMA
67. London flat, perhaps TYRE

Down
1. Vitamin in liver NIACIN
2. Coop up in a coop ENCAGE
3. Substance in acid tests LITMUS
4. Process start STEP A
5. Earthquake consequence TSUNAMI
6. Gave a buzz RANG
7. Curved pieces ARCS
8. It may be corkscrew-shaped PASTA
9. 90 degrees DUE EAST
10. It takes time to settle them OLD SCORES
11. Ta-ta, to texters GTG
12. Cheer competitor ERA
13. Genealogically-based patriotic org. SAR
21. Andean native INCA
22. Medical office closing? -ITIS
25. __ on the back A PAT
26. Manny who ranks third in MLB lifetime pinch hits MOTA
27. Colliery entry ADIT
30. Blows away AWES
31. Horseshoes-like game JARTS
33. Wanting more THIRSTIER
34. Biweekly tide NEAP
35. Zest LUST
36. With 17-Across, intermission music ENTR’-
37. Fits to __ A TEE
41. Cinches ENSURES
42. Ruminants with racks DEER
43. Oberon’s queen TITANIA
44. Cabinet dept. ENER
47. Disc storage format BLU-RAY
48. Over there YONDER
49. Ultimate purpose END USE
51. Dumbledore’s slayer SNAPE
53. Source FOUNT
55. Quran authority IMAM
56. Period with limits TERM
57. Bolivia’s La __ PAZ
58. Minute Maid brand HI-C
59. GP’s gp. AMA

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