Theme: O
20. *Many a smartphone download : FREE RINGTONE. Ring
29. *Beef cut : TOP ROUND STEAK. Round
44. *Traction aid for off-road vehicles : ALL-WHEEL DRIVE. Wheel
53. Influential groups, and what each of the answers to starred clues contains : INNER CIRCLES
Argyle here. Three theme entries are unique to LAT puzzles(used for the first time) and Patti should know, she is the assistant to Rich. Two tall climbers and strong corners complete this tough Tuesday. Quite a few CSO's, too.
Across:
1. Stare in astonishment : GAPE
5. Phased-out jets : SSTs. (SuperSonic Transport)
9. Duvet filler : EIDER
14. October birthstone : OPAL
15. Abbr. in an abbreviated list : ET AL.
16. Carne __: burrito filling : ASADA. "Where's the beef?"
17. "My bad" : "OOPS"
18. Singer Simone : NINA
19. Shoot down, in a way : REBUT
23. Viola's sect. : STR. (strings)
24. Good to go, at NASA : A-OK
25. Wields power : REIGNS
33. Radiates happiness : GLOWS
35. Russian denial : "NYET!"
36. Poetic tribute : ODE
37. Blades cut by a blade : LAWN. Tricky.
38. Spider-Man Parker : PETER
40. Crossword diagram : GRID
41. Part of a storm or a needle : EYE
42. Uber alternative : TAXI
43. Frat party garb : TOGAs
Nashua, where are you?
Nashua, where are you?
I was looking for a pic to add to this when I discovered I didn't even have the entry!
48. "New Hampshire's Gate City" : NASHUA. Ah, there you are.
49. Fair-hiring abbr. : EOE. (Equal Opportunity Employer)
50. Clean Air Act org. : EPA. (Environmental Protection Agency)
57. Site with "Health A-Z" guides : WEB MD
60. Home Depot purchase : TOOL. Not a TARP today.
61. Farm grunt : OINK. The one part of the pig that can't be used.
62. Shake an Etch A Sketch, e.g. : ERASE. Cute.
63. In the buff : NUDE. ;-)
64. Fried corn bread : PONE
65. Woodland deity : SATYR
66. Fired from the job : AXED
67. Hearty meal : STEW
Down:
1. Says 17-Across, say : GOOFS. (Oops)
2. To the left, at sea : APORT
3. They're usually on a roll : PAPER TOWELS. Ahem, the bigger rolls.
4. "What __ is new?" : ELSE
5. Graduate-to-be : SENIOR
6. Three sheets to the wind : STINKO
7. Cranberry quality : TANG. Hand up for TART.
8. Part of a window shutter : SLAT
9. Sincere : EARNEST
10. Words upon making out a distant image : "I SEE IT"
11. Apply daintily : DAB
12. Academic address ending : .EDU
13. __ race : RAT
21. Knocks : RAPS
22. Gavel-pounding demand : ORDER
26. "Middlemarch" novelist : GEORGE ELIOT. (Mary Ann Evans)
27. 1976 Olympics star Comaneci : NADIA
28. RR station postings : SKEDS. Schedules.
30. Part of MYOB : OWN
31. Up to the time when : UNTIL
32. PBS "Science Guy" Bill : NYE
33. Gather a bit at a time : GLEAN
34. Clapton woman who's "got me on my knees" : LAYLA. "The song was further inspired by Clapton's then unrequited love for Pattie Boyd, the wife of his friend and fellow musician George Harrison of The Beatles." Wiki
38. Song of praise : PAEAN
39. Application file suffix : EXE
40. Head in a capital: Abbr. : GOV. (Governor)
42. Lightning follower : THUNDER
43. Row at Dodger Stadium : TIER
45. Capriciousness : WHIMSY
46. Solve, as a cipher : DECODE
47. Stirred up : ROILED
51. Pasta often served alla vodka : PENNE
52. Cockeyed : ASKEW
54. European volcano that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site : ETNA
55. Butter-and-flour sauce thickener : ROUX
56. Police : COPS
57. Director Anderson : WES. Wiki LINK.
58. Wisk rival : ERA
59. Baseball club : BAT
Argyle
Morning, all!
ReplyDeleteFound this one challenging for a Tuesday. Stuff like REBUT, SKEDS, ISEEIT, and WHIMSY just wouldn't come without a lot of perp help. And putting in BEAMS before GLOWS really slowed me down for a bit. But I managed to get through it all unscathed in the end.
Still, SKEDS?
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteMy brain may have been ZIKAed this morning. For "Wields power" I immediately entered WIELDS. D'oh! Stumbled with PSALM before PAEAN. Thought the long downs at 3 and 26 would be theme entries. Nope. But everything worked out in good time. Thanks, Patti and Argyle.
Nawlins-style cooking -- "Well, first you make a ROUX...."
BG, I agree about skeds as a word, but here are the usages in the last decade
ReplyDeleteLA Times - Aug. 2, 2016 (today)
USA Today - March 15, 2016
Brendan Emmett Quigley - Jan. 14, 2016
New York Times - Aug. 22, 2015
Brendan Emmett Quigley - Aug. 18, 2014
Merl Reagle Sunday Crossword - Aug. 3, 2014
LA Times - Aug. 29, 2012
LA Times Sunday Calendar - April 17, 2011
Wall Street Journal Friday - Nov. 6, 2009
Wall Street Journal Friday - July 24, 2009
New York Times - April 7, 2009
Newsday - Aug. 7, 2008
Universal Crossword - March 15, 2008
New York Times - Sept. 1, 2007
Newsday - Aug. 30, 2007
Washington Post - Jan. 10, 2007
Universal Crossword - Nov. 12, 2006
I agree with Argyle's comments about the cute clues, but wonder where he saw the CSOs?
ReplyDeleteRoux? Our LA contingent...
Satyr? hmm
A little crunchy for a Tuesday, but fair. SKED may not be a Tuesday word, but it came easily. GLOWS suggested itself right off, because of RADIATES in the clue. NINA was all perps. I like WHIMSY. I can accept "I goofed," "oops", even "my bad" as an informal expression of "I made a mistake," but IMO none of them is an acceptable apology.
ReplyDeleteAs for yesterday's discussion of whether BLACK is a color, imagine describing a car to the COPS by saying it had no color.
I use sites like WEB MD as a hint or an arrow pointing out a direction to pursue. I use the content with a grain of salt and look for further research. WEB MD has been helpful.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Patti Varol, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for a fine review.
ReplyDeleteThe North gave me some problems, so I headed South. Much easier to get a foothold there.
Up North, had SASH for 8D. Had STONED for 6D. Had WARMEST for 9D. QUIET for 22D. With all my errors it is no wonder the rest would not fill in. Finally, got FREE RING TONE for 20A. That pretty much fixed all my Down errors. Filled in SLAT, STINKO, EARNEST, and ORDER.
No problem with SKEDS. I had STEAK first.
Spelled PAEAN wrong first pass.
Anyhow, that's it!
Went to a Cubs game last night. Cubs won 5-0 over the Marlins. Weather was great. Only had 4 $10 beers.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
Good Morning,
ReplyDeleteAn enjoyable run, Patti. Thank you. I stumbled upon the theme, which took care of so much else. Also wanted psalm for PAEAN. Favorite: GEORGE ELIOT. A freebie since it was a Jeopardy answer--excuse me, question--on Friday, so it was at the forefront of my brain.
Another nice tour, Argyle. Thanks.
Have a good day, everyone.
63A, 6D, 51D, cheers.
ReplyDeleteLots of food for Steve, with 16A for Lucina.
TART for Lois, in case she is reading this. :~)
Argyle: Great write-up ... but no CSO to Moi for STINKO? Or my favorite beach-wear NUDE?
ReplyDeletePatti: Thank You for a FUN Tuesday puzzle. Enjoyed the INNER CIRCLES theme.
Learning moment of the day was "New Hampshire's Gate City" NASHUA (100% perps!).
Well "The SUN is Over the Yardarm" ... (I does like a low yardarm) ...
Cheers!
Politicians have their INNER CIRCLE
ReplyDeleteWho council them that enough work'll
Get them elected,
Their opponent rejected,
But for some candidates, it'll take a mir'cle!
*counsel
ReplyDelete{A}
ReplyDeleteA Wednesday level Tuesday puzzle, but doable nonetheless. A good puzzle from Patti along with Argyle's usual level of excellence in the write-up.
I have no problem with SKED. How else are you going to shorten or abbreviate SCHEDULE. I use it all the time
I did have a problem with EIDER as the type of Duvet filling. EIDERDOWN is extremely rare and expensive so you won't find many Duvets filled with EIDERDOWN. See the Eiderdown article. Goose-down is more likely found in a Duvet or comforter.
Hope you all have a great day.
Nashua is about 25 miles NE of Natick. Also the name of a famous 50s horse for whom a stakes race is still run
DeleteNashua was a Brooklyn Dodger affiliate, post war, and had a battery of Don Newcombe and Roy Campanella.
SOTTED caused me some serious inkblots.
I loved how Julia Childs said ROUX
ASADA???? WEBMD DNFed me the other day so I was ready for it.
Erato's out of town, eh Owen? I couldn't come up with rhymes, myself.
Good morning all. Thank you Patti and thank you Argyle. Fun puzzle.
ReplyDeleteYes, TART. Hand up here.
I really like Carne ASADA. It's mostly made with skirt steak around here.
We make chicken fajitas at least once a week. We use McCormick Grill Mates Chipolte & Roasted Garlic. It's not too hot or overly spicy. We ran out last week. Unbeknownst to each other, DW bought one for $1.99 at our local Walmart. I bought two for $2.49 at the local supermarket (Jewel-Osco). We're stocked up now.
Neighbor's daughter was pig sitting her friend's little pot bellied OINKer Sunday and yesterday. A very social little guy that couldn't stop wagging his tail.
We don't hear STINKO around here. At least I haven't. Blotto, smashed, loaded, soused yes. Others that I wouldn't repeat, yes. STINKO, no.
Scott, try the Scott Choose-a-Sheet Mega Roll Paper Towels. A better value. Plus, you can tear off half sheets for small clean-ups.
Hi Y'all! Tricky but fun! Thanks, Patti! Thanks, Argyle! Enjoyed the music. Wasn't sure what NINA sang.
ReplyDeleteGot the theme but looked for more entries.
Dacron before EIDER. I'm allergic to feathers. Didn't think they put them in duvets.
Didn't know NASHUA. Mown before LAWN.
GEORGE was perped, ELIOT was a lucky WAG. WES was a WAG or else deep unconscious knowledge.
Hand up for psalm & tart.
Black is a color in you have to buy ink for your inkjet printer. I GOOFED and grabbed the box without the BLACK in it.
" I can accept "I goofed," "oops", even "my bad" as an informal expression of "I made a mistake," but IMO none of them is an acceptable apology. "
ReplyDeleteI agree. As an apology for having damaged another's property or having caused harm to another, then definitely not.
As an acceptance of an error to oneself or one's own property et al, they're fine.
In team sports, "My bad" accepts blame (takes ownership of) and can help build team unity. A receiver may drop a ball, but the QB might take the blame to take the heat off of the receiver. Unless his name is Jay Cutler.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteI agree that this had a bit of a bite for a Tuesday but nothing too serious. I went astray by entering George Sands until the perps straightened that out to Eliot. Just Googled George Sands and up popped George Sand (no s), which was the pseudonym of a French writer. Have no idea why that was my first thought. Also don't know what possessed me to think Peter Parker was Posey Parker. Methinks perhaps I could benefit from some of MmeDefarge's tutelage! I needed the reveal to grasp the theme and then, of course, it was as plain as the nose on my face!
Very nice offering, Patti, and many thanks,Argyle, for the guided tour.
Have a great day.
Fun puzzle. Needed the reveal to get the theme, but it was obvious enough. Also thought that maybe the long downs would be included since a paper towel roll has an inner circle. Sort of.....but George wasn't cooperating with that at all.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the Nina Simone clip very much, Argyle. So much I think it warrants an encore. Nina.
And that deserves an encore cover from a more recent period. Encore
ReplyDeleteIMO, the clue for 43D is wrong. A TIER consists of rows, not just one row. If the clue had been plural, there I'd be OK with it.
ReplyDeleteOOPS ....plural, then, ..........
oc4beach, interesting article. I didn't realize eider down is so rare. I see Amazon has an eider down comforter for $3,899.84! A have a down comforter (probably goose)in a duvet, obviously not eider.
ReplyDeleteI agree that a tier in a stadium consists of rows. Never caught it.
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteSolved it without look-ups. Had 'stoned' before STINKO.
EIDER - Eiderdown. German FEDERDECKE - feather bed. I grew up with FEDERDECKE - 'til I left home.
Eider is also a river in Schleswig-Holstein from whose banks my parents emigrated. The Eider is the boundary between Schleswig and Holstein. For many centuries it served as the northern boundary of the Holy Roman Empire (HRE); Holstein was in the HRE, Schleswig, being mostly Danish then, was not.
Late start today. Hope my fans haven't given up on me! As a prelude,
ReplyDeleteRAP, RAP.
Who's there?
PAPER.
Paper who?
RAPPING paper, of course!
PAPER TOWELS on a roll
ReplyDeleteHelp to give clean-up control,
But a reason
For a PAEAN --
Toy light-sabers fill the hole!
Ice on the roads mean plenty of skids!
Driving GOOFS by scads of kids!
To best survive
Have ALL-WHEEL DRIVE,
Or better still, the day's bus SKEDS!
The dendrochronologist, in the forest alone
Had no use for a FREE RING TONE.
No GRID recepting
Disturbed his questing
For cores to study a tree-ring zone!
To stuff a DUVET use feathers from a cock,
Or EIDER down, though the duck may squawk!
If you'd birds eschew
It wouldn't be ASKEW
To turn to tree pods and use kapok!
7D: Wanted to go with TART but waited until I filled in the orths.
ReplyDeleteOrths you ask? Orthogonals!
I always see the term perps. It took me a while to understand that term. One day it hit me - perpendiculars.
So I've coined a new crossword term.
Strangely, my newspaper didn't have the constructors name today. Thanks, Patti Varol!
ReplyDeleteOver all, I found this quite easy though hand up for TART then TANG. Loved the clue for LAWN, blades cut by a blade. Even NASHUA slipped out quickly so I must have stored it at some point.
Thanks for the shout out, Argyle as well as your on TOP analysis!
Have a great day, everyone!
Nice Tuesday offering by Patti. And no circles needed for the theme answers. Very clean and nicely done! Loved the PAPERTOWELS clue!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Argyle, for a nice write-up.
Sorry, Hondo, but you're totally wrong about your definition. A tier is one row. Tiers are multiple rows. All dictionaries I've checked give that definition.
ReplyDeleteWhich brings me to why Patti's clue is correct and she knew it. Editors demand, and rightfully so, that a constructor's clues are correct. It's why they actually consult dictionaries instead of assuming what they've always believed is right.
Pedants' corner (again)
ReplyDelete• For Rich and Patti (Editor and Assistant Editor...):
The UNIFIER is: "...., and what EACH of the [theme answers] contains".
But EACH answer contains an INNER CIRCLE (singular). Ain't it so?
Was on the same wavelength as the constructor so I just went right through this. Funny how that is.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, a nice Tuesday grid.
Argyle’s summative paragraph works for me
ReplyDeleteMusings
-We will never be without ALL WHEEL DRIVE on our on-road cars
-What shame to Shake/ERASE!
-If Polaris is APORT, you’re sailing on a 90˚ heading, - east.
-I like the new paper towel convention of being able to pull off ½ sheets
-Not a RAT race, but still a fun scene from a great movie (1:56)
-“So, what ELSE is new?” and “I could care less” seem to be phrases that are contradictory to what is intended. Thoughts?
-Those graduating SENIORS will have a rude awakening this month
-Bill NYE’s great videos have filled many hours up of science classes.
Woohoo! This was almost a speed run for me--exciting when Argyle calls it a "tough" one!(Usually it's the other way around, with me struggling through puzzles generally thought to be pretty easy). It helped that I knew GEORGE ELIOT and that everything just pretty much fell into place. Only I first had NASSAU instead of NASHUA, so had to fix that, and the bottom right corner took just a bit of thought. And have never heard the expression STINKO, so even though I got it, I frowned a little on that one.
ReplyDeleteBut what a great way to start a Tuesday--many thanks, Patti! And you too, Argyle, always.
Have a nice day, everybody!
Boy, Erato showed up at Owen's door and brought all his friends. Great showing, As aplenty.
ReplyDeleteHG:. Another is " I couldn't agree, more" means essentially the same as " ", Less
Wilbur- Maybe carne asada (grilled meat) is a regional food. In the West, every Mexican restaurant has it. It's usually made from marinated flank steak that's either grilled or roasted and then cut into small pieces and used as a filling for tacos and burritos. As delicious as carne asada is, carnitas (little meats) taste even better. It's pork shoulder traditionally cooked in a copper pot with lard over an outdoor fire. I simply slow roast it in the oven on low heat for 5 hours in a pan with lard, oranges, and onions. This meat is also a filling for Mexican dishes. Made right, It's tender to the max and as tasty as any meat that exists.
ReplyDeleteLucina- Feel free to correct me if the translations are not exact.
Worst puzzle ive done in a while. ten abbrvs on a tuesday?. Save em for thur fri. Got thru it. Wasnt fun. At least fridays anything goes..but tuesday
ReplyDeleteJerome:
ReplyDeleteYou are spot on about carne ASADA and carnitas. My mouth is watering just reading about it!
This was one of the best. Not too easy, not too hard, but ju-ust right. Ms. Varol's pzl contained just the right amount of challenge pour moi...
ReplyDeleteReally, it was the kind of Xwd that a dedicated cruciverbalist appreciates, one that had me looping back and forth at a steady pace to bring all its parts together. There was no need to cheat or even "check-to-confirm" along the way, and it paid off with a very pleasing degree of satisfaction while filling the blanks.
ROUX was a favorite word.
Wilbur Charles @12:48, I'm not sure how Julia Childs pronounced it, but I recall my 7th grade French teacher explaining that when you start to say an "R" in French, you must begin with a deep-throated "H."
Excellent puzzle. Fine construction. Fun to solve. Satisfaction producing. Happy man.
ReplyDeleteParsimony. No?
ReplyDelete:-)
That's right, Julia's Roux did have the aspirated 'R'. And of course the high voice.
ReplyDeleteThey are having a long look at things like lard, bacon fat etc and their effects on the heart. NPR had a spot last Saturday morning with a USF Scientist who is questioning just how medicine condemned saturated fats and Incorporated statins.
And of course, home fries, Boston diner style have to be cooked with the bacon, if not the OINK.
Musings 2
ReplyDelete-Look away all you foodies!!! This is the ROUX the puzzle inspired me to make for today’s lunch. We really enjoy it!
-If you don’t care for this pedestrian food, “I could care less!” Wait a minute, that’s stupid to say! ☺
-Comment on yesterday’s ESSAY discussion: The hardest working teachers I ever knew read ESSAYS and took great pains to make detailed corrections. The best teacher I ever knew burned out and became an administrator.
-Not a hill worth dying on but I always thought of a TIER as being an entire level of rows but am happy to see the other single row definition
A good Tuesday puzzle. Thanks, Patti and Argyle for your work!
ReplyDeleteIM: hand up for GEORGE sands. I knew there was no "s" on the end of Sand, but didn't think about it, just put it in. Perps to the rescue.
Enjoy your Tuesday!
Pat
Alright Gary!
ReplyDeleteWe rediscovered SOS a year or so back when my bride found dried beef in the bottled variety. We always keep a few jars on hand for those days when you just have no ideas about what to make. In my ute, we had it often, but it was alway of the Carl Buddig variety....which had a short shelf life and required actual planning. The jars don't, and we love it. A clutch meal with history. What's not to like?
inner circles will mess with your head...
ReplyDelete(They are exactly the same size, go ahead, measure them...)
HG, when it comes to stadium and theater seating, the dictionary confirms that a tier is a series or set of rows rather than a single row.
ReplyDeleteHusker- I always thought, as you and Hondo did, that TIER was multiple rows. I'm quite sure that most people do. When I read Hondo's comment my first thought was how in the heck can two editors be wrong... both Patti and Rich? Well, Once I read the definition of TIER in a few dictionaries it became obvious they were not.
ReplyDeleteA few words about writing clues. For many constructors writing clues is like having to wash the dishes after having a good time cooking and eating. There's little glory in it. No matter how hard, and how much time and effort you put in it the editor is going to change a lot of them anyway. The reasons, that's another discussion. If the puzzle is published, then it's time for some bloggers to take their shot at what they believe to be wrong or not good enough, or boring. A nit here, a nit there. A tacit "gotcha"... ad nauseam. This doesn't happen much at The Corner, but believe me guys, go to some of the other crossword blogs and you'll find plenty of gripes and sniper fire.
Hondo- My apologies if my first post was gruff.
I usually give Rich and company the benefit of the doubt, figuring they do their research. This time I beg to differ. Jerome, did you read the definition that applies to seating? From Vocabulary.com and many other dictionaries, this is the most apropos definition:
ReplyDeletetier-a section of seats in a stadium
I know from buying theater tickets that a tier is not a single row, but a section.
Jerome.
ReplyDeleteFrom my perspective, your comments lately are better suited for those other blogs that you speak of. Your retort to Hondo was ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteNo, from any perspective.
Yellowrocks- I'm positive that your research led you to understand that a TIER is most often a row. However, that it can be used to define rows of seats in a stadium in no way means that to define it in the singular as ROW is wrong.
ReplyDeleteI'm now as bored with this as most of you... I quit.
Hello to the Corner INNER CIRCLE!
ReplyDeleteThank you Patti for ROUNDing out my Tuesday. Enjoyed the puzzle and have nothing to REBUT. Argyle, thanks for 'splainin' what MYOB meant [I kept thinking - it's BYOB 'cept at Tin's]
The NE is an ink-fest - honnest [sic], I GOOF'd. I didn't SEE IT at 1st until I tried to stuff an "old comforter" in the Duvet. I also tried to LEG out the Race...
Other WO - Hand up - TArt b/f TANG (:10)
ESP - NASHUA.
Fav: PENNE pasta of course :-).
{B,B,B+}
AveJoe & HG - FIL's (RIP) specialty (and about all he could cook) was SOS. But, damn, it was good.
Jerome - funny (peculiar, not ha ha) I enjoy clueing. Mind you, I'm still learning how to GRID smoothly (thanks C.C.!)
Re: TIER - Every row in a ball park is one tier up from the one in front. My $0.02.
FLN - Mde. Defarge - I thanked DW, my teacher, w/ a big kiss. I did learn the method in Catholic grade-school but it was beaten out of me in public HS. DW brought it back and said it's the right way to write [we met & married b/f college].
Who ELSE "heard" The WHO at 25a?
Cheers, -T
Confusion re George Sand and George Eliot? Male pseudonyms for Armandine Aurore Lucille Dupin and Mary Ann Evans, respectively. I thought of Sand(s) when George was filled in with perps.
ReplyDeleteThe "U" sound in Dupin is very similar to the ROUX sound. And yes, I do recall HS French teacher trying to get us to make that un-American sound.
ReplyDeleteI actually taught HS French way back in 1967.