LA Times Crossword 1 Jul 26, Wednesday

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Constructed by: Emily Biegas

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Move Mountains

Themed answers each contain the name of a famous MOUNTAIN hidden within, but the letters in that name have MOVED:

• 52A Go to great lengths, or what this puzzle’s circled letters do? : MOVE MOUNTAINS

• 19A “Well, not quite … ” : THAT’S A STRETCH … (moved SHASTA)
• 28A “The gall!” : WHAT NERVE! (moved ETNA)
• 43A Move to the country? : LINE DANCE (moved DENALI)

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

Bill’s time: 7m 25s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A “A Christmas Carol” scoff : BAH

The classic 1843 novella “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens has left us with a few famous phrases and words. Firstly, it led to popular use of the phrase “Merry Christmas”, and secondly it gave us the word “scrooge” to describe a miserly person. And thirdly, everyone knows that Ebenezer Scrooge uttered the words “Bah! Humbug!”.

13A County seat of Hawaii County : HILO

Hilo is the largest settlement on the Big Island of Hawaii, and has a population of over 43,000 (that’s not very many!). I love the Big Island …

14A Home of the Mighty Five national parks : UTAH

The highest number of National Parks (NPs) in any one state is nine, in California. Alaska comes in second with eight, and Utah comes in third with five. The “Mighty Five” NPs in Utah are:

• Arches NP
• Bryce Canyon NP
• Canyonlands NP
• Capitol Reef NP
• Zion NP

17A Plumbing part : PIPE

“Plumbum” is Latin for “lead”, explaining why the symbol of the element in the Periodic Table is “Pb”. It also explains why the original lead weight on the end of a line used to check vertical was called a “plumb line”. And, as pipes were originally made of lead, it also explains why we would call in a “plumber” if one of those pipes were leaking.

18A Play a banjo : STRUM

The instrument that we know today as the banjo is a derivative of instruments that were used in Africa.

19A “Well, not quite … ” : THAT’S A STRETCH … (moved SHASTA)

Mount Shasta is in northern California. The origin of the name “Shasta” seems to be unclear. It may have come from the Russian “tchastal” meaning “white, clean, pure”, a name given to the volcanic peak by early Russian immigrants.

27A Book part : SPINE

In the US, the convention is to write the title on the spine of a book from top-to-bottom. In most of Europe, the convention is to write the title from bottom-to-top. We have a lot of books in the “library” in our house from both sides of the Atlantic, and so there is much movement of the head from left to right as we glance along our bookshelves.

28A “The gall!” : WHAT NERVE! (moved ETNA)

Mount Etna, located on the island of Sicily, is one of the world’s most active stratovolcanoes and one of the most frequently erupting volcanoes on Earth. It has been active for at least 500,000 years, with historical eruptions documented for over 3,500 years.

30A Persona non __ : GRATA

A persona non grata (plural “personae non gratae”) is someone who is not welcome. The phrase is Latin for “an unacceptable person”. The opposite phrase is “persona grata”, meaning “acceptable person”.

33A Compass rose dir. : SSW

A compass rose is an illustration, on say a map or a monument, that is used to display the cardinal directions appropriately oriented. The term “compass rose” also describes the circular display with graduated markings that one sees on the face of a magnetic compass.

37A Sch. in the smallest U.S. state : URI

The University of Rhode Island (URI) was chartered as an agricultural school back in 1888. Rhody the Ram was chosen as the school’s mascot in 1923, a nod to URI’s agricultural past. As a result, the school’s sports teams are known as the Rams. URI’s main campus today is located in the village of Kingston, with smaller campuses in Providence, Narragansett and West Greenwich.

43A Move to the country? : LINE DANCE (moved DENALI)

“Denali” means “the high one” in the native Koyukon Athabaskan language, and is the name used for the peak formerly known as Mount McKinley. Denali’s summit stands at 20,310 feet, making it the highest mountain peak in North America. I was surprised to learn that there is a Denali State Park, as well as the Denali National Park. The two are located adjacent to each other (which makes sense!). The State Park is undeveloped for all practical purposes, with just a few campgrounds and trailheads.

45A Scope : AMBIT

An ambit is an outer boundary or limit, a circumference. The term “ambit” can also be used to mean the sphere or scope of influence. “Ambit” comes from the Latin “ambire” meaning “to go around”.

51A Smooth and suave : URBANE

We use “urbane” today to describe something courteous or refined. Back in the 1500s, the term was used in the same way that we now use “urban”. Those townsfolk thought they were more sophisticated than the country folk, and so the usage evolved.

62A Stella who founded an acting school in New York City : ADLER

Stella Adler was an actress turned acting teacher. The Stella Adler Studio of Acting’s list of graduates includes the likes of Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel. Adler has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame that is located in front of the Stella Adler Theater.

Down

1D Diagonal mover in chess : BISHOP

In the game of chess, the piece known in English as the “bishop” can have other names when translated from other languages. For example:

1. Elephant: Chinese and Russian
2. Jester: French
3. Runner: German
4. Camel: Hindi
5. Standard-bearer: Italian

2D High-pH substance : ALKALI

The “opposite” of an acid is a base. Acids turn litmus paper red, and bases turn it blue. Acids and bases react with each other to form salts. An important subset of the chemicals called bases are alkalis, hydroxides of the alkali metals and of ammonium. The term “alkali” is sometimes used interchangeably with “base”, especially if that base is readily soluble in water.

3D In charge of Thanksgiving dinner, say : HOSTING

Thanksgiving Day was observed on different dates in different states for many years, until Abraham Lincoln fixed the date for the whole country in 1863. Lincoln’s presidential proclamation set that date as the last Thursday in November. In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the holiday to the next to last Thursday in November, arguing that the earlier date would give the economy a much-needed boost. Some opposed the change of date, and many called the new holiday “Franksgiving”, deriding President Roosevelt’s proclamation. A compromise was reached between the White House and Congress in 1941, creating Thanksgiving as a national holiday on the fourth Thursday of November every year, starting in 1942.

4D Butterflies-to-be : PUPAE

A pupa is a stage in the life of some insects. All four stages are embryo, larva, pupa and imago. Pupae can look like little dolls, hence the name. “Pupa” is the Latin for “doll”.

6D Bot blocker : CAPTCHA

A CAPTCHA is a challenge-and-response test that is used to determine if a user is a human or some automated program. The acronym “CAPTCHA” stands for “Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart”. The Turing Test is a test of a machine’s ability to exhibit intelligent behavior equivalent to, or indistinguishable from, that of a human. CAPTCHAs are essentially simple Turing Tests designed to protect websites from bots.

7D Tibetan people : SHERPA

In the Tibetan language, “Sherpa” means “eastern people” (sher = east, pa = people). Sherpas are an ethnic group from Nepal, but the name is also used for the local guides who assist mountaineers in the Himalayas, and particularly on Mount Everest.

10D Shock jock’s sound effects : AIR HORNS

A shock jock is a radio personality who uses humor that is likely to offend much of the audience, and/or who expresses exaggerated opinions designed to generate a heated reaction. The list of broadcasters who have been labelled “shock jocks” includes Howard Stern, Opie and Anthony, and Don Imus. Not a fan …

11D “The Simpsons” disco guy : STU

On “The Simpsons”, the character Disco Stu is voiced by Hank Azaria, although the original intent was for him to be voiced by Phil Hartman.

13D Part of an encrypted URL : 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”.

20D Anti-inflammatory choice : STEROID

Corticosteroids are synthetic medications designed to mimic cortisol, the natural hormone produced by the adrenal glands to combat inflammation. They act as a physiological shut-off valve when an overactive immune system mistakenly attacks the body’s own tissues.

26D “Comfortable. Confident.” shoe brand : KEDS

Keds is a brand of athletic shoe first introduced in 1916 by US Rubber. The shoe was originally marketed as a rubber-soled, canvas-topped sneaker. The company first opted for the brand name “Peds”, from the Latin “ped” meaning “foot”. That name was already taken by another product, and so a quick rebranding took place resulting in “Keds”. The brand celebrated its centennial with a “Ladies First Since 1916” campaign that focuses on female empowerment.

28D Elena Rybakina’s org. : WTA

Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).

Elena Rybakina is a Russian-born Kazakhstani tennis player. She made history by capturing the 2022 Wimbledon ladies’ singles title, becoming the first Kazakhstani player to win a major championship.

31D Cultural territory in France’s Grand Est region : ALSACE

Alsace is a cultural region in France that sits at the very east of the country, right on the border with Germany. The political status of Alsace was disputed by France and Germany for over three centuries, and was formally handed over to French control after Germany’s defeat in WWI.

34D Made it home quickly? : SLID

That would be baseball.

35D Image on Dutch Bros coffee cups : WINDMILL

Dutch Bros Coffee is a chain of drive-through coffee retailers that was founded in 1992 by Dane and Travis Boersma. The founders are two third-generation dairy farmers with Dutch ancestry, hence the company name. The first Dutch Bros Coffee outlet was a single espresso pushcart stationed in downtown Grants Pass, Oregon.

37D Sporty truck, briefly : UTE

A utility vehicle is often called a “ute” for short. Nowadays one mainly hears about sport-utes and crossover-utes.

40D “Cowboy Carter” icon : BEYONCE

“Cowboy Carter” is a 2024 album released by Beyoncé. Also titled “Act II: Cowboy Carter”, it is the second in a trilogy of albums that started with 2022’s “Act I: Renaissance”. Several artists make guest appearances on “Cowboy Carter”, including Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus.

44D Migratory people : NOMADS

A nomad is someone who roams about. The term “nomad” comes from the Latin “nomas” meaning “wandering shepherd”. In turn, “nomas” comes from the Greek “nomas” meaning “roaming (especially when looking for pasture)”.

55D “Ghost” psychic __ Mae Brown : ODA

Oda Mae Brown is the psychic medium in the movie “Ghost”, and is played by Whoopi Goldberg.

The fabulous film “Ghost” was the highest-grossing movie at the box office in 1990, bringing in over $500 million, despite only costing $21 million to make. Stars of the film are Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg. You might get a chance to check out the stage musical adaptation “Ghost The Musical”, which debuted in 2011 and toured the UK and US.

56D Okra or orca unit : POD

The plant known as okra is mainly grown for its edible green pods. The pods are said to resemble “ladies’ fingers”, which is an alternative name for the plant. Okra is known as “ngombo” in Bantu, a name that might give us the word “gumbo”, the name of the southern Louisiana stew that includes okra as a key ingredient.

Orcas tend to live in groups. Those groups center around a matriarch, a female orca surrounded by male and female offspring. A male orca tends to stay with his mother for life. A female orca does spend time away from her mother, creating her own pod. Her pod usually travels relatively close to the matriarch’s group.