LA Times Crossword Answers 27 Feb 14, Thursday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Gareth Bain
THEME: Mad Money … each of today’s themed answers ends with an anagram of an international currency, “MAD” MONEY:

17A. *Place for a soak in Bangkok? THAI BATH (from “Thai baht”)
23A. *Mumbai baby food? INDIAN PUREE (from “Indian rupee”)
36A. *Low point in Oran? ALGERIAN NADIR (from “Algerian dinar”)
47A. *Stance in a Monterrey studio? MEXICAN POSE (from “Mexican peso”)

60A. Emergency fund … or what the second part of each answer to a starred clue ends with? MAD MONEY

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 11m 35s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Sunshine State resort BOCA
The name of the city of Boca Raton in Florida translates from Spanish as “Mouse Mouth”. There doesn’t seem to be a definitive etymology of the name but one plausible explanation is a nautical one. “Boca”, as well as meaning “mouth” can mean “inlet”. “Ratón”, as well as meaning “mouse” was also used to describe rocks that chewed away at a ship’s anchor cable. So possibly Boca Raton was named for a rocky inlet.

5. Country in which Quechua is an official lang. BOL
Bolivia is a landlocked country in South America, bordered by Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. The land now occupied by Bolivia was originally part of the Inca Empire. The country declared independence from Spain in 1809, which led to 16 years of war. When the Republic was finally named, “Bolivia” was chosen in honor of the Venezuelan-born revolutionary leader, Simón Bolívar.

Quechua was the existing Native American language that was adopted by the Incan Empire and favored over other dialects.

14. “Downton Abbey” title EARL
Fans of the wonderful TV drama “Downton Abbey” will be very familiar with the exterior appearance of Highclere Castle in Hampshire. Highclere is used as the location for exterior and many interior shots of the fictitious Grantham residence called Downton Abbey. The exterior of Highclere is very reminiscent of the Houses of Parliament building in London. That similarity exists because the house was largely rebuilt from 1839 to 1842 by architect Sir Charles Barry soon after he finished work on the refurbished Houses of Parliament.

15. Tablet maker RCA
I guess RCA now makes a tablet computer.

16. Osaka-born violinist MIDORI
Midori Goto is a Japanese American classical violinist who was born in Osaka, Japan who moved with her mother to New York City in 1982 when she was 11 years old. She usually performs simply under the name “Midori”.

17. *Place for a soak in Bangkok? THAI BATH (from “Thai baht”)
The baht is the currency of Thailand, and is subdivided into 100 satang.

Bangkok is the capital city of Thailand. The exact etymology of the name “Bangkok” seems unclear, although “bang” is a Thai word meaning “a village situated on a stream”.

19. Alligator cousin CAIMAN
Caimans are relatively small, crocodile-like reptiles that inhabit Central and South America. That said, the largest species can grow to 13 feet in length, but many are about 3 feet long.

22. Holy territory SEE
A “see” is the jurisdiction or official seat of a bishop or pope.

Vatican City is a sovereign city-state that is walled off within the city of Rome. Vatican City is about 110 acres in area, and so is the smallest independent state in the world. With about 800 residents, it is also the smallest state in terms of population. Although the Holy See dates back to early Christianity, Vatican City only came into being in 1929. At that time, Prime Minister Benito Mussolini signed a treaty with the Holy See on behalf of the Kingdom of Italy that established the city-state.

23. *Mumbai baby food? INDIAN PUREE (from “Indian rupee”)
The rupee is a unit of currency, used in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan.

Mumbai is the most populous city in India, and the second most populous city in the world (after Shanghai). The name of the city was changed from Bombay to Mumbai in 1995.

32. Edward Jones Dome NFL player RAM
The Edward Jones Dome is the stadium that is home to the St. Louis Rams football team. The stadium has been named since 2002 for Edward Jones Investments, a brokerage house headquartered in St. Louis.

33. Rank below abbot PRIOR
The ecclesiastical title of “Prior” is derived from the Latin word for “earlier, first”. A Prior is lower in rank than an Abbot but has a leadership position in a monastery. The female equivalent title is Prioress.

35. Oilers’ org. NHL
The National Hockey League’s Edmonton Oilers are so called because they are located in Alberta, Canada … oil country.

36. *Low point in Oran? ALGERIAN NADIR (from “Algerian dinar”)
The denarius (plural “denarii”) is a small silver coin that was used in Ancient Rome. Derived from the Latin “deni” meaning “containing ten”, a denarius had the value of ten asses. Today’s “dinar” is a common coin in the Arab world and is named for the old Roman coin. The dinar name was chosen in the days when Arabs were conquering large swathes of the old Roman Empire.

The nadir is the direction pointing immediately below a particular location (through to the other side of the Earth for example). The opposite direction, that pointing immediately above, is called the zenith.

Oran lies on the Algerian coast, and is famous for being the port where the French Navy was largely destroyed by the British during WWII in order to avoid the French vessels falling into the hands of Nazi Germany after France surrendered. This decisive and unexpected unilateral action by the British sent a very strong message around the world that Britain was willing to fight alone against the axis powers if necessary.

40. Sharable PC file PDF
Portable Document Format (PDF) is a file format introduced by Adobe Systems in 1993. PDF documents can be shared between users and read using many different applications, making them more universally accessible than documents saved by one particular program.

41. Mah-__ JONGG
“Mahjong” (also mahjongg and mah-jongg) is the Chinese word for “sparrow”. Mahjong is a game that originated in China, and is usually played by four players. There is a myth that the game was developed by the Chinese philosopher, Confucius. The myth also suggests that Confucius was fond of birds, and hence chose the name “sparrow”.

42. 2011 NBA retiree YAO
Yao Ming is a retired professional basketball player from Shanghai who played for the Houston Rockets. At 7’6″, Yao was the tallest man playing in the NBA.

43. Porter, for one ALE
Porter is a dark beer that originated in London in the 1700s and is named for the street and river porters with whom it was very popular. Porter is a well-hopped beer made using brown malt, which gives it the dark color.

44. Effusive musical genre EMO
The musical genre of “emo” originated in Washington D.C. in the 80s, and takes its name from “emotional hardcore”. Not my cup of tea …

45. Knoxville sch. UTENN
The University of Tennessee (UT) is a public school in Knoxville that was founded in 1794. UT is home to the collections of three sets of presidential papers; those of Presidents Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk and Andrew Johnson, all of whom hailed from Tennessee.

47. *Stance in a Monterrey studio? MEXICAN POSE (from “Mexican peso”)
The coin called a “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”.

Monterrey is a Mexican city, the capital of the state of Nuevo Leon in the northeast of the country. Monterrey is the second largest city in Mexico in terms of area, but third largest in terms of population (the largest area city in the country is Mexico City, and the most populous are Mexico City and Guadalajara).

52. Green Lantern or Green Arrow SUPERHERO
The Green Lantern is a comic book superhero who has had a number of alter egos through the life of the character. The Green Lantern is a member of the Justice League of America superhero team. Other members of the League include Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman.

The Green Arrow is a superhero in the DC Comics universe. He dresses like Robin Hood and used specially adapted arrows that give him his superpowers.

61. Mysterious ARCANE
Something that is “arcane” is something that is understood by only a few, something that might be described as mysterious.

Down
1. Behrs of “2 Broke Girls” BETH
Beth Behs is the actress who plays Caroline Channing, one of the leads on the sitcom “2 Broke Girls”.

“2 Broke Girls” is a somewhat new sitcom that has been on the air since 2011. It tells the story of two relatively poor roommates trying to start a cupcake business in Brooklyn, New York.

2. Vans Triple Crown of Surfing locale OAHU
The Vans Triple Crown of Surfing is a series of surfing competitions held in Hawaii. All of the events are held off the coast of the island of Oahu, except one of the women’s competitions that is held in Honolua Bay in Maui.

4. Et __ ALII
Et alii (et al.) is the equivalent of et cetera (etc.), with et cetera being used in place of a list of objects, and et alii used for a list of names. In fact “et al.” can stand for et alii (for a group of males, or males and females), aliae (for a group of women) and et alia (for a group of neuter nouns, or for a group of people where the intent is to retain gender-neutrality).

7. “Swing Shift” Oscar nominee LAHTI
Christine Lahti is an actress probably best known for playing Dr. Kate Austen on the TV medical drama “Chicago Hope”. If you read “The Huffington Post” you might run across her as well, as Lahti is a contributing blogger.

“Swing Shift” is a 1984 movie starring Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. It was while filming “Swing Shift” that Hawn and Russell met for the first time, and have been in a relationship ever since.

8. Film buff’s channel AMC
AMC, formerly known as American Movie Classics, is one of my favorite television channels. Although the channel’s focus has shifted from airing classic movies to including other programming, there’s still a lot of quality output. AMC’s flagship show is “Mad Men”.

9. Scattering of an ethnic population DIASPORA
Diaspora is a Greek word meaning “a scattering of seeds”. I guess I’m one of the Irish seeds …

10. Continental farewell ADIEU
“Adieu” is the French for “goodbye” or “farewell”, from “à Dieu” meaning “to God”.

11. Toy dog breed POMERANIAN
The Pomeranian is a breed of small dog, named for the Pomerania region of Europe (part of eastern Germany and northern Poland). The breed was much loved by the royalty of Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. In the 19th century, Queen Victoria owned a particularly small Pomeranian. Due to the notoriety of the monarch’s pet, the Pomeranian was bred for small size, so that during the Queen’s admittedly long reign, the size of the average “pom” was reduced by 50% …

24. It may come before one NOON
Our word “noon”, meaning “midday”, comes from the Latin “nona hora” that translates as “ninth hour”. Back in Ancient Rome, the “ninth hour” was three in the afternoon. Over the centuries, traditions such as church prayers and “midday” meals shifted from 3 p.m. to 12 p.m., and so “noon” became understood as 12 noon.

25. “I Feel Bad About My Neck” writer Nora EPHRON
Nora Ephron had many talents, including writing film scripts and novels. Many of the movies that she wrote, she also directed. These would include some of my favorite movies of all time like “Sleepless in Seattle”, “You’ve Got Mail” and most recently, the wonderful “Julie & Julia”. And, did you know that Nora Ephron’s second marriage was to journalist Carl Bernstein of Watergate fame? She wrote an autobiographical novel based on her life with Bernstein, dealing in particular with Bernstein’s affair with the daughter of British Prime Minister James Callaghan.

“I Feel Bad About My Neck” is a non-fiction book by Nora Ephron in which she uses humor to explore the life of an aging woman.

29. Bit of shocked text OMG
OMG is text-speak for Oh My Gosh! Oh My Goodness! or any other G words you might think of …

33. Evergreens with edible nuts PINONS
The piñon is also known as the pinyon pine, and is a tree that grows in the American Southwest and in Mexico. Pinyon nuts (a type of pine nut) are quite delicious …

37. Escaping à la James Bond, perhaps EJECTING
James Bond was of course the creation of the writer Ian Fleming. Fleming “stole” the James Bond name from an American ornithologist. The number 007 was “stolen” from the real-life, 16th century English spy called John Dee. Dee would sign his reports to Queen Elizabeth I with a stylized “007” to indicate that the reports were for “her eyes only”.

38. Ovoid tomato ROMA
The Roma tomato isn’t considered to be an heirloom variety, but it is very popular with home gardeners, especially those gardeners that don’t have a lot of space. It is a bush type (as opposed to vine type) and needs very little room to provide a lot of tomatoes.

40. Nonstick brand PAM
PAM cooking oil was introduced in 1961 by Leon Rubin and Arthur Meyerhoff. The name “PAM” is an acronym … standing for “Product of Arthur Meyerhoff” …

48. Little bits IOTAS
Iota is the ninth letter in the Greek alphabet. We use the word “iota” to portray something very small as it is the smallest of all Greek letters.

50. Bridget Riley genre OP ART
Bridget Riley is a painter from England who expresses herself in the genre of Op Art.

53. __ erectus HOMO
Homo erectus is an extinct cousin of Homo sapiens, our human species.

54. Oklahoma city 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.

55. Attorney general after Barr RENO
Janet Reno was Attorney General of the US from 1993 to 2001. Reno was the person to hold the office second longest, and was our first female Attorney General. In 2002, Reno ran for Governor of Florida but failed to win the Democratic nomination. Thereafter she retired from public life.

William Barr was the US Attorney General for two years in the administration of President George H. W. Bush. When not working, Barr is a very enthusiastic player of the Scottish bagpipes!

56. __ and terminer: criminal court OYER
“Oyer and terminer” is a term that originates in English law and that applies in some US states. Here in the US, oyer and terminer is the name given to some courts of criminal jurisdiction. Even though it has its origins in English law, the words “oyer” and “terminer” come from French (via Anglo-Norman) and mean “to hear” and “to determine”.

59. Business VIP CEO
Chief executive officer (CEO)

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Sunshine State resort BOCA
5. Country in which Quechua is an official lang. BOL
8. Transforms, as for a different medium ADAPTS
14. “Downton Abbey” title EARL
15. Tablet maker RCA
16. Osaka-born violinist MIDORI
17. *Place for a soak in Bangkok? THAI BATH (from “Thai baht”)
19. Alligator cousin CAIMAN
20. Abase HUMILIATE
22. Holy territory SEE
23. *Mumbai baby food? INDIAN PUREE (from “Indian rupee”)
27. Musical ability, in slang CHOPS
30. As well TOO
31. Mimic APE
32. Edward Jones Dome NFL player RAM
33. Rank below abbot PRIOR
35. Oilers’ org. NHL
36. *Low point in Oran? ALGERIAN NADIR (from “Algerian dinar”)
40. Sharable PC file PDF
41. Mah-__ JONGG
42. 2011 NBA retiree YAO
43. Porter, for one ALE
44. Effusive musical genre EMO
45. Knoxville sch. UTENN
47. *Stance in a Monterrey studio? MEXICAN POSE (from “Mexican peso”)
51. Poker haul POT
52. Green Lantern or Green Arrow SUPERHERO
57. __ license POETIC
60. Emergency fund … or what the second part of each answer to a starred clue ends with? MAD MONEY
61. Mysterious ARCANE
62. Teacher, at times PRO
63. Dig for 58-Down MINE
64. “We’re outta here!” LET’S GO!
65. Stop: Abbr. STN
66. What the nose knows ODOR

Down
1. Behrs of “2 Broke Girls” BETH
2. Vans Triple Crown of Surfing locale OAHU
3. Stuff CRAM
4. Et __ ALII
5. Mastermind BRAINS
6. Pie slices, often OCTAD
7. “Swing Shift” Oscar nominee LAHTI
8. Film buff’s channel AMC
9. Scattering of an ethnic population DIASPORA
10. Continental farewell ADIEU
11. Toy dog breed POMERANIAN
12. Melodic syllable TRA
13. Preacher’s topic SIN
18. Brief upturn BLIP
21. Getting down EATING
24. It may come before one NOON
25. “I Feel Bad About My Neck” writer Nora EPHRON
26. Long swimmer EEL
27. Carry protectively CRADLE
28. Anticipate uncertainly HALF EXPECT
29. Bit of shocked text OMG
33. Evergreens with edible nuts PINONS
34. Lurid paper RAG
37. Escaping à la James Bond, perhaps EJECTING
38. Ovoid tomato ROMA
39. Microscope slide additive DYE
40. Nonstick brand PAM
45. Applied to USED ON
46. Time between inaugurations TERM
48. Little bits IOTAS
49. Inflation causes PUMPS
50. Bridget Riley genre OP ART
53. __ erectus HOMO
54. Oklahoma city ENID
55. Attorney general after Barr RENO
56. __ and terminer: criminal court OYER
57. Sidekick PAL
58. See 63-Across ORE
59. Business VIP CEO

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