LA Times Crossword 4 Aug 20, Tuesday

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Constructed by: Gary Larson
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Reveal Answer: Double Down

Themed answers are all in the DOWN-direction. Each comprises two words, both of which can be DOUBLED:

  • 30D Blackjack bet … and a hint to the answers to starred clues : DOUBLE DOWN
  • 3D *Verify using multiple sources : CROSS-CHECK (giving “double-cross” & “double-check”)
  • 7D *Gadget function typical of most similar gadgets : STANDARD FEATURE (giving “double standard” & “double feature”)
  • 21D *Many a Match.com get-together : BLIND DATE (giving “double-blind” & “double-date”)
  • 23D *Four-dimensional mathematical system : SPACETIME (giving “double-space” & “double time”)

Bill’s time: 4m 55s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5 “Divine” nickname for singer Bette : MISS M

One of my favorite singers, and indeed all-round entertainers, is Bette Midler. If you’ve ever seen her live show you’ll know that “camp” is a good word to describe it, as her humor is definitely “out there” and quite bawdy. Early in her career, Midler spent years singing in the Continental Baths, a gay bathhouse in New York City. There she became very close friends with her piano accompanist, Barry Manilow. While singing in the bathhouse, Bette only wore a white towel, just like the members of her audience. It was in those days that she created her famous character “the Divine Miss M” and also earned herself the nickname “Bathhouse Betty”.

10 Muslim prayer leader : IMAM

An imam is a Muslim leader, and often the person in charge of a mosque or perhaps a Muslim community.

14 Farmland measure : ACRE

At one time, an acre was defined as the amount of land a yoke of oxen could plow in a day. Then, an acre was more precisely defined as a strip of land “one furrow long” (i.e. one furlong) and one chain wide. The length of one furlong was equal to 10 chains, or 40 rods. An area of one furlong times 10 rods was one rood.

15 “Star Wars” droid : ARTOO

Artoo’s proper name is R2-D2 (also “Artoo-Detoo”). R2-D2 is the smaller of the two famous droids from the “Star Wars” movies. British actor Kenny Baker, who stood just 3 ft 8 ins tall, was the man inside the R2-D2 droid for the first six of the “Star Wars” movies.

16 Flexible mineral sheet : MICA

Mica is a silicate mineral. Thin sheets of mica are transparent and are used in place of glass in certain applications. This form of mica is called isinglass, and as it has a better thermal performance than glass it is a great choice for “peepholes” in boilers and lanterns. Mica is also used in the electronics industry, making use of its unique electrical and thermal insulating properties.

18 Rings like church bells : PEALS

A “peal”, meaning “a ringing of a bell”, is thought to be a shortened form of “appeal”. The idea is that a bell-ringing can be an appeal or summons to church.

19 Actor Baldwin : ALEC

Alec Baldwin is the oldest of the acting Baldwin brothers. I think Alec’s big break was playing Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan in “The Hunt for Red October”, but thank goodness that role was taken over by Harrison Ford for the subsequent Jack Ryan movies. Baldwin also made a name for himself playing Jack Donaghy on “30 Rock”, opposite Tina Fey. More recently, he is known for impersonating President Donald Trump on “Saturday Night Live”.

20 UFO crew, it’s said : ETS

One might speculate that an unidentified flying object (UFO) is flown by an extraterrestrial (ET).

21 Cap’n’s mate : BO’S’N

A boatswain works on the deck of a boat. He or she is unlicensed, and so is not involved in the navigation or handling of the vessel, and instead is in charge of the other unlicensed workers on the deck. “Boatswain” is pronounced “bosun” and this phonetic spelling is often used interchangeably with “boatswain”. The contraction “bo’s’n” is also very popular.

22 Measure of a celeb’s popularity : Q SCORE

“Q Score” is a measurement used in the world of marketing. The Q Score for a brand or company is its appeal, how highly it is regarded. The Q stands for “quotient”.

24 Arnaz-Ball studio : DESILU

As one might imagine, “Desilu” is a contraction of the names of the production company’s owners, Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. The name “Desilu” was first given to the couple’s ranch in Chatsworth, California. Desilu produced some great shows, including the original “Star Trek” and “Mission: Impossible”.

26 Bikini specs : D-CUPS

The origin of the word “bikini”, describing a type of bathing suit, seems very uncertain. My favorite story is that it is named after the Bikini Atoll, site of American A-bomb tests in the forties and fifties. The name “bikini” was chosen for the swim-wear because of the “explosive” effect it had on men who saw a woman wearing the garment!

28 Lit __ : CRIT

Literary studies, also called literary criticism (lit crit), is the evaluation and interpretation of literature.

30 Use a shovel : DIG

A shovel is a manual tool used for lifting and throwing material such as earth and coal. Our words “shovel” and “shove” are related etymologically, as a “shovel” is used to “shove” things aside.

33 “Suzanne” songwriter Leonard : COHEN

I’ve never been a big fan of the music of Canadian singer Leonard Cohen (don’t all yell at me at the same time!). That said, his 1984 song “Hallelujah” is superb, and I particularly like the version recorded by Jeff Buckley in 1994. Then again, “Suzanne” is pretty special too. Just ignore me …

36 New York governor Andrew : CUOMO

Andrew Cuomo won the gubernatorial election for the State of New York (NYS) in 2010. Andrew is the son of former Governor of New York Mario Cuomo. Andrew was also married for 13 years to Kerry Kennedy, a daughter of Robert F. Kennedy.

38 Set right : AMEND

The verb “to amend” means “to change for the better, put right, alter by adding”. The related verb “to emend” is used more rarely, and mainly in reference to the editing of professional writing. Both terms are derived from the Latin “emendare” meaning “to remove fault”.

39 Rx writers : MDS

There seems to be some uncertainty about the origin of the symbol “Rx” that’s used for a medical prescription. One explanation is that it comes from the astrological sign for Jupiter, a symbol put on prescriptions in days of old to invoke Jupiter’s blessing to help a patient recover.

40 Chopin composition : ETUDE

An étude is a short instrumental composition that is usually quite hard to play and is intended to help the performer master a particular technique. “Étude” is the French word for “study”. Études are commonly performed on the piano.

Frédéric Chopin was a Polish composer who spent most of his life in France. He was most famous for his piano works in the Romantic style. Chopin was a sickly man and died quite young, at 39. For many of his final years he had a celebrated and tempestuous relationship with the French author George Sand (the nom de plume of the Baroness Dudevant). Those years with Sand may have been turbulent, but they were very productive in terms of musical composition.

43 Crockett’s “Miami Vice” partner : TUBBS

“Miami Vice” is a detective television show that originally aired in 1984-1989. Stars of the show are Don Johnson (as Sonny Crockett) and Philip Michael Thomas (as Rico Tubbs). There is a 2006 film adaptation of “Miami Vice” starring Colin Farrell as Crockett and Jamie Foxx as Tubbs.

44 Noah’s project : ARK

According to the Bible’s Book of Genesis, Noah was instructed to build his ark 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide and 30 cubits high. That’s about 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high.

47 “The __ From Ipanema” : GIRL

Ipanema is a beach community in the south of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. The name Ipanema is a local word meaning “bad water”, signifying that the shore is bad for fishing. The beach became famous worldwide following the release of the song “The Girl from Ipanema” in 1962.

48 Skylit courts : ATRIA

In modern architecture, an atrium (plural “atria” or “atriums”) is a large open space usually in the center of a building and extending upwards to the roof. The original atrium was an open court in the center of an Ancient Roman house. One could access most of the enclosed rooms of the house from the atrium.

55 Went like the dickens : TORE

The phrase “like the dickens” is used to mean “a lot” (it hurts like the dickens) or “quickly” (ran like the dickens). The phrase has nothing to do with the author Charles Dickens, and rather “dickens” is a euphemism for the “devil”.

57 Narc’s org. : DEA

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)

59 Everest or Rushmore : MOUNT

Mount Everest was named by the Royal Geographical Society in 1865. The peak is named for Welsh surveyor George Everest, who had served as Surveyor General of India from 1830 through 1843. Everest actually objected initially to the use of his name, given that he had nothing to do with the peak’s discovery, and given that he believed “Everest” was difficult to write and to pronounce in Hindi.

The four presidents whose faces are carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore are (from left to right) George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Each of the presidents is about 60 feet in height, although they might have been larger. The original intent was for each president to be depicted from head to waist, but the project lost funding.

61 Rhine city : BONN

After WWII, Bonn was chosen as the capital of West Germany. That choice was promoted by Chancellor Konrad Adenauer who was from the area. After German reunification, the nation’s capital was moved to Berlin.

The river running through Europe that we know in English as the Rhine, is called “Rhein” in German, “Rhin” in French and “Rijn” in Dutch.

62 Jason’s ship : ARGO

In Greek mythology, Jason and the Argonauts sailed on the Argo in search of the Golden Fleece. The vessel was called “Argo” in honor of the ship’s builder, a man named Argus.

64 Furry Endor creature : EWOK

The Ewoks are creatures that live on the moon of Endor in the “Star Wars” universe. First appearing in “Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi”, they’re the cute and cuddly little guys that look like teddy bears.

65 Othello, for one : MOOR

The most famous Moor in literature has to be Othello, the title character in William Shakespeare’s tragedy “Othello, the Moor of Venice”. The word “Moor” describes various peoples of North Africa, usually of the Muslim faith. At the height of their geographic influence the Moors occupied much of the Iberian peninsula, calling it Al Andalus (from which modern Andalusia gets its name).

66 Sandwiches for dessert : OREOS

There is an “official” competition involving Oreo cookies, in case anyone is interested in participating. A competitor has to take several steps to finish an OREO Lick Race:

  1. Twist open the cookie.
  2. Lick each half clean of creme.
  3. Show the clean cookie halves to the fellow competitors.
  4. Dunk the cookie halves in a glass of milk.
  5. Eat the cookie halves.
  6. Drink the milk.
  7. Ready, set, go …

67 Raggedy dolls : ANNS

Raggedy Ann is a rag doll that was created by Johnny Gruelle in 1915 for his daughter, Marcella. He decided to name the doll by combining the titles of two poems by James Whitcomb Riley, “The Raggedy Man” and “Little Orphan Annie”. Gruelle introduced Raggedy Ann in a series of books three years later. Sadly, Marcella died at 13 years of age with her father blaming a smallpox vaccination she was given at school. Gruelle became very active in the movement against mass vaccination, for which Raggedy Ann became a symbol.

Down

1 Put on, as cargo : LADED

The verb “to lade” meaning “to load” comes from an Old English word “hladan”. “Lade” also used to mean “draw water” and indeed gave us our word “ladle”. So “lade” and “ladle” are close cousins.

Cargo is freight carried by some vehicle. The term “cargo” comes into English via Spanish, ultimately deriving from the Latin “carricare” meaning “to load on a cart”.

2 Less than right, angle-wise : ACUTE

In geometry, there are several classes of angles:

  • Acute (< 90 degrees) 
  • Right (= 90 degrees) 
  • Obtuse (> 90 degrees and < 180 degrees) 
  • Straight (180 degrees) 
  • Reflex (> 180 degrees)

8 Note after fa : SOL

The sol-fa syllables are: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la & ti.

9 Muslim temple : MOSQUE

The largest mosque in the world is Al-Masjid Al-Haram in Mecca, sometimes referred to in English as the Sacred Mosque or the Grand Mosque. Al-Masjid Al-Haram is home to the Kaaba, the most sacred location in Islam. Muslims face in the direction of the Kaaba when performing formal worship known as Salat.

10 All-in-one Apples : IMACS

The iMac is a desktop computer platform that Apple introduced in 1998. One of the main features of the iMac is an “all-in-one” design, with the computer console and monitor integrated. The iMac also came in a range of colors that Apple marketed as “flavors”, such as strawberry, blueberry and lime.

11 Venus de __ : MILO

The famous “Venus de Milo” is so named as she was discovered in the ruins of the ancient city of Milos, on the Aegean island of the same name. I’ve been lucky enough to see the statue, in the Louvre in Paris, and was surprised at how tall it is (6 ft 8 in tall).

12 Asian laptop brand : ACER

Acer is a Taiwanese company that I visited a couple of times when I was in the electronics business. I was very impressed back then with the company’s dedication to quality, although I have heard that things haven’t gone so well in recent years …

13 Riot squad spray : MACE

“Mace” is actually a brand name, one introduced by Lake Erie Chemical when they started to manufacture “Chemical Mace”, with the name being a play on the club-like weapon from days of old. Mace was originally a form of tear gas, but Mace today uses a formula that is actually a pepper spray, a different formulation.

21 *Many a Match.com get-together : BLIND DATE (giving “double-blind” & “double-date”)

In the scientific procedure called a single-blind trial, the subjects do not know whether or not they are in the test group or the control group, but the researcher does. In a double-blind trial, neither the subjects nor the researcher know who is in the test and control groups, until the study is completed.

23 *Four-dimensional mathematical system : SPACETIME (giving “double-space” & “double time”)

In the world of physics, spacetime is a 4-dimensional model that melds the three dimensions of space with time as a fourth dimension. I’ve tried to understand spacetime so many times, but have never gotten very far. What I hear all the “time” is that the curvature of spacetime is … gravity.

25 Goddess of peace : IRENE

Eirene (also “Irene”) was the Greek goddess of peace, with “eirene” being the Greek word for “peace”. The Roman equivalent to Eirene was the goddess Pax.

30 Blackjack bet … and a hint to the answers to starred clues : DOUBLE DOWN

The card game known as “twenty-one” was first referred to in print in a book by Cervantes, the author famous for writing “Don Quixote”. He called the game “ventiuna” (Spanish for “twenty-one”). Cervantes wrote his story just after the year 1600, so the game has been around at least since then. Twenty-one came to the US but it wasn’t all that popular so bonus payments were introduced to create more interest. One of the more attractive bonuses was a ten-to-one payout to a player who was dealt an ace of spades and a black jack. This bonus led to the game adopting the moniker “Blackjack”.

31 Website with film info : IMDB

The website called the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) was launched in 1990, and is now owned by Amazon.com. It’s a great site for answering questions one has about movies and actors.

32 “And So It __”: Billy Joel : GOES

“And So It Goes” is a song by Billy Joel that is described as a lyric poem. Joel wrote it in 1983 about his dramatic relationship with model Elle Macpherson, although the song was not released until 1989.

33 Siena sweetheart : CARA

In Italian, “cara” (dear) is a word of “amore” (love) that is spoken “con affetto” (with affection).

Siena is a beautiful city in the Tuscany region of Italy. In the center of Siena is the magnificent medieval square called Piazza del Campo, a paved sloping open area made up of nine triangular sections. The square has to be seen to be believed. Twice a year, the famous bareback horse-race called the Palio di Siena is held in the Piazza.

34 Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan __ : OMAR

Ilhan Omar has been representing Minnesota’s 5th congressional district in the US House since 2019. At that time, she became one of the first two Muslim women to serve in the US Congress.

35 Yemeni neighbor : 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.

46 Words from Juliet : O ROMEO

In William Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet”, the lovers discuss the sad fact that they have been born into two feuding families in the famous balcony scene. Juliet says:

O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name;
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.

Romeo’s reply includes the famous lines:

What’s in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;

47 Saddle bands : GIRTHS

A girth or cinch is a piece of horse tack that is used to keep a saddle in place. The girth passes under the barrel of the horse, around the rib cage.

50 Gas from the Greek for “strange” : XENON

The element xenon was the first of the noble gases to be made into a compound, which was somewhat remarkable in that the noble gases were thought by many to be completely inert, unreactive.

52 Fake : SHAM

A sham is something that is imitation, fake. In the world of bed linens, a sham is also an imitation or fake, in the sense that it is a decorative cover designed to cover up a regular pillow used for sleeping.

53 Poi root : TARO

The corm of some taro plants is used to make poi, a traditional Hawaiian dish (which I think tastes horrible). When a taro plant is grown as an ornamental, it is often called Elephant Ears due to the shape of its large leaves.

54 Start of a conclusion : ERGO

“Ergo” is a Latin word meaning “hence, therefore”, and one that we’ve absorbed directly into English.

61 Actress Arthur : BEA

Actress Bea Arthur’s most famous roles were on television, as the lead in the “All in the Family” spin-off “Maude” and as Dorothy Zbornak in “The Golden Girls”. Arthur also won a Tony for playing Vera Charles on stage in the original cast of “Mame” in 1966, two years after she played Yente the matchmaker in the original cast of “Fiddler on the Roof”.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Delicate, like curtain fabric : LACY
5 “Divine” nickname for singer Bette : MISS M
10 Muslim prayer leader : IMAM
14 Farmland measure : ACRE
15 “Star Wars” droid : ARTOO
16 Flexible mineral sheet : MICA
17 Pairs : DUOS
18 Rings like church bells : PEALS
19 Actor Baldwin : ALEC
20 UFO crew, it’s said : ETS
21 Cap’n’s mate : BO’S’N
22 Measure of a celeb’s popularity : Q SCORE
24 Arnaz-Ball studio : DESILU
26 Bikini specs : D-CUPS
28 Lit __ : CRIT
29 Field of knowledge : AREA
30 Use a shovel : DIG
33 “Suzanne” songwriter Leonard : COHEN
35 Vein contents : ORE
36 New York governor Andrew : CUOMO
38 Set right : AMEND
39 Rx writers : MDS
40 Chopin composition : ETUDE
41 Tried to outrun : RACED
42 Away from the bow : AFT
43 Crockett’s “Miami Vice” partner : TUBBS
44 Noah’s project : ARK
45 Top of the line : A-ONE
47 “The __ From Ipanema” : GIRL
48 Skylit courts : ATRIA
49 “My turn” : I’M NEXT
52 Den music system : STEREO
55 Went like the dickens : TORE
57 Narc’s org. : DEA
58 Difficult : HARD
59 Everest or Rushmore : MOUNT
61 Rhine city : BONN
62 Jason’s ship : ARGO
63 View from the moon : EARTH
64 Furry Endor creature : EWOK
65 Othello, for one : MOOR
66 Sandwiches for dessert : OREOS
67 Raggedy dolls : ANNS

Down

1 Put on, as cargo : LADED
2 Less than right, angle-wise : ACUTE
3 *Verify using multiple sources : CROSS-CHECK (giving “double-cross” & “double-check”)
4 “Absolutely” : YES
5 Plan, as a route : MAP OUT
6 Infuriates : IRES
7 *Gadget function typical of most similar gadgets : STANDARD FEATURE (giving “double standard” & “double feature”)
8 Note after fa : SOL
9 Muslim temple : MOSQUE
10 All-in-one Apples : IMACS
11 Venus de __ : MILO
12 Asian laptop brand : ACER
13 Riot squad spray : MACE
21 *Many a Match.com get-together : BLIND DATE (giving “double-blind” & “double-date”)
23 *Four-dimensional mathematical system : SPACETIME (giving “double-space” & “double time”)
25 Goddess of peace : IRENE
27 Top of a wave : CREST
30 Blackjack bet … and a hint to the answers to starred clues : DOUBLE DOWN
31 Website with film info : IMDB
32 “And So It __”: Billy Joel : GOES
33 Siena sweetheart : CARA
34 Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan __ : OMAR
35 Yemeni neighbor : OMANI
37 Reversal : U-TURN
46 Words from Juliet : O ROMEO
47 Saddle bands : GIRTHS
48 Zeal : ARDOR
50 Gas from the Greek for “strange” : XENON
51 Wartime vehicles : TANKS
52 Fake : SHAM
53 Poi root : TARO
54 Start of a conclusion : ERGO
56 Aware of : ONTO
60 Blade in the water : OAR
61 Actress Arthur : BEA

28 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword 4 Aug 20, Tuesday”

  1. No errors, four write-overs. Jumped the gun with ‘Drs’ instead of MDS. Put in ‘Lohan’ before changing to COHEN.

    Not a fan of LIT CRIT.

  2. One error. Had Cohan, not Cohen. If I would have looked at 29 down again, Irene, would have got it. Had Irane?

  3. 6:28, no errors.

    @Cathy (from yesterday) … Thanks for revealing your source for the spelling “Hedi”. I have to wonder, given that Ms. Lamarr grew up in Austria, if the spelling might be a more logical choice in German? (Either that, or the author of the articles you read in the 50’s simply confused it with “Heidi” … 😜.) In any case, she was a remarkable individual …

    And … yesterday, I observed that having Klaus Kinski for a father would be problematical. Last night, I became re-acquainted with his history (including re-watching most of Werner Herzog’s documentary, “Mein Liebster Feind”) and am once again convinced that he was quite literally insane.

    1. @Nonny
      It was absolutely engrossing. May I also recommend the documentary ‘Burden of Dreams’ showing us Herzog’s own brand of madness in his obsession to make the movie ‘Fitzcarraldo’ starring his best friend….Klaus Kinski.

  4. Also don’t care for Mr. Cohen’s poetry/music, nor for MISS M.
    No errors or Googles. Did not notice the theme.
    Had drS before MDS and tolLS before PEALS,
    Never heard of this OMAR.

  5. 10 mins 48, and needed Check help for 2 fills. The theme is not well-defined enough to make sense. I saw that one of the down fills had two consecutive letters … but then STANDARD FEATURE did not; so I was lost. Again, a matter of these forced themes just not being that well thought out, and a waste of time, usually.

  6. 5:23 no errors

    I found the puzzle itself pretty easy, but didn’t understand the theme until I got here.

  7. 3 empty squares in ACER and QSCORE. I got hung up on the usual
    condition that U always follows Q in a word, but not in this one.
    And just did not know the Asian laptop.

    Didn’t understand DCUPS, although I got it.

    Stay safe and well, everybody.

  8. Another relatively easy puzzle. The theme was fine although I didn’t need it to complete the task. Most of the themes fall into 2 categories:

    1) Adding a common word to starred clues or

    2) adding or subtracting letters to change a common phrase to fit the clue.

    Some themes are better than others.

  9. I finished this puzzle with some difficulty. I am a senior who used to do Xwords here, but I kinda lost my eyesight, so this is after a loong time. I was well out of practice. But it is a privilege that Mr Butler still continues with dedication and perseverance !! Time and Tide wait for no man. Respectful Greetings.

    1. Vidwan!

      It is wonderful to see you back here again. It has been such a long time. Thank you so much for dropping by. I do hope that you find the time to post every so often. I am sure I speak for many of the blog’s readers when I assure you that your comments are very, very welcome. Stay well, Vidwan.

      1. Thank you Bill. I admire your dedication to the blog, to the profession and your persistence in following through in what must be a very difficult and arduous task, every day. without a backup. Thank you for your good wishes, this is like getting a pat from Einstein himself !!

  10. @ Vidwan827

    Welcome back!! I’ve been reading this blog for a number of years. Seeing you post again finally pushed me to post myself. I’ve always enjoyed your posts and learned from them. I hope you’ll be able to post often again.

  11. @Vidwan – Glad you’re back! You’re a man of much welcome knowledge. Sorry to hear of your physical problem. Sei gesund.

  12. I couldn’t just leave without saying hello and paying my respects to the founder and sole producer Mr. Bill, and his wonderful observations and comments.

    Imam is oft confused on spelling with Iman and Inam. the former I believe is also a (black, actually Somali ) fashion model, she of single name fame … who was dating David Bowie.
    Sorry she was married to David Bowie until his death.
    Iman is an Arabic word for ‘faith’. Her birth name was different … consisting of three words. See Wiki.
    Inam , means a gift, or an award or honor, or reward. ( in Urdu and Hindi and possibly in Arabic.)

    The following can be confirmed in Wikipedia ….
    The discoverer of Mt. Everest was supposedly an Indian geographer and mathematician named (Mr) Radhanath Sikdar, who was a cartographer working for the Geological Survey of India. He was working off of maps and triangulating calculations, in Dehra Dun ( which is, about 600 miles away from Mt. Everest ….) in 1852, and the Peak XV was found to be probably the tallest mt in the world at 29,002 ft ( give or take a hundred feet …) The calculations were confirmed in 1854 or 1856 and the mountain was named after Mr. Everest, who had already retired as Director, and was in England. The tradition of naming is to generally use local names, so as to locate the area, however, the British were very much in control ( although there was this mutiny in 1857 …) … and they decided to name it after one of their own. It might have been named after Queen Victoria or Prince Albert, … but before 1857 , the rulers were the Honorable East India Company…
    Cheerio.

    1. VIDWAN!! So very glad to hear from you! Love your comments today (as I always have 🤗). So sorry about your eyesight. Please post again if you can!!

  13. PeaKay and Jane Blando … I am flabbergasted and honored that anybody would remember me. I trust you too, are keeping well. I thought I had Covid ( and recovered, ) but apparently it was something else. Now, I am of mixed emotions … apparently I am still under risk. 😉
    Well, one day at a time. Thank you for your kind wishes, I don’t deserve half the praise, but it just burst my heart !!!!

    1. And … belatedly … let me add my “Welcome Back!”. Of course we remember you! We’ve all wondered what was happening and are delighted to hear from you!

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