Theme: Word Link - A single word that may be used in conjunction with four other dissimilar words.
55A. Leave hurriedly ... and, literally, what the first words of the answers to starred clues can do: TAKE A POWDER
20A. *Shake off one's daydreams: FACE REALITY. Face powder.
39A. *Cause of chubby cheeks, perhaps: BABY FAT. Baby powder.
11D. *Ingratiate oneself (with): CURRY FAVOR. Curry powder.
29D. *Bargain hunter's venue: FLEA MARKET. Flea powder.
Rabbit Rabbit! Argyle here. Needed the reveal today, that's for sure. I did think of Marti; she would love some fresh powder for skiing. The first two powders you could mix up but not those last two!
Across:
1. Working stiff: PEON
5. Brief timetable: SKED. (schedule)
9. Racing venue near Windsor Castle: ASCOT
14. "Beetle Bailey" dog: OTTO
15. Greet from a distance: WAVE
16. Waste not: REUSE. "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without"
17. Inch or foot: UNIT. Unit of measure.
18. Actor Bana of "Closed Circuit": ERIC. I don't remember it.
19. Singer Haggard: MERLE
23. Towel holder: ROD
24. Strokes on greens: PUTTS
25. Rap fan: B-BOY. Think breakdancing.
27. Little child, in Cannes: ENFANT
30. Decanter relatives: CARAFEs
33. Richly adorn: GILD
34. "Born Free" lioness: ELSA
37. Carne __: Mexican dish: ASADA
38. Old AT&T rival: GTE. Formerly General Telephone & Electric Corporation. Update: That should be Electronics. It appears Wikipedia has it wrong.
41. Perp's prey, in copspeak: VIC. (victim)
42. French floor: ÉTAGE
44. Like the lama, but not the llama, in a Nash poem: ONE L
45. Foot warmer: SOCK
46. Switches for mood lighting: DIMMERS
48. Boardroom illustrations: CHARTS
50. Farmland measure: ACRE
51. Tawdry: SEAMY
53. Trojan __: WAR
60. Joint commonly sprained: ANKLE
62. __ facto: IPSO. (by that very fact or act.)
63. "__ a heart!": HAVE
64. Stout mug: STEIN
65. Property claim: LIEN
66. Biblical garden: EDEN
67. __ four: small cake: PETIT. Not suitable for handing out on Halloween, mores the pity though.
68. "A __ of Two Cities": TALE
69. Bird's home: NEST
Down:
1. High hair style: POUF. Can you find a Winnie the Pouf hair do?
2. Active European volcano: ETNA
3. Of the ears: OTIC
4. Tablet: NOTEPAD
5. Sugary brewed drink: SWEET TEA
6. K, to a jeweler: KARAT
7. Lesser of two __: EVILS
8. Metric prefix: DECI
9. Kid in a military family: ARMY BRAT
10. Observe: SEE
12. Norwegian capital: OSLO
13. Ready to be kicked off: TEED. Are you ready for some football?
21. Gallop: RUN
22. Ltrs. in an unfilled TV time slot: TBA. (to be announced)
26. Western treaty org.: OAS. (Organization of American States)
27. Urged (on): EGGED
28. Gangster Frank in "Road to Perdition": NITTI
30. Street eatery: CAFE
31. Order from on high: EDICT
32. Pink-slips: SACKS
35. Debt-heavy corp. deals: LBOs. (leveraged buyout)
36. Word in a thesaurus: Abbr.: SYN. (synonym)
39. Temporary Oktoberfest structure: BEER TENT
40. "The Untouchables" gangster: AL CAPONE
43. Yukon automaker: GMC. (General Motors Truck Company)
45. Drink pourer's words: "SAY WHEN"
47. Actor Stephen: REA
49. Wellness gp.: HMO. (Health Maintenance Organization)
51. Vintage photo hue: SEPIA
52. Painter's stand: EASEL
53. Hornet, e.g.: WASP
54. Poker bet that's not optional: ANTE. No ante, no cards for you!
56. Highland garb: KILT
57. Florida's Miami-__ County: DADE
58. Times to call, in ads: EVES. (evenings)
59. Apartment payment: RENT
61. 52, in old Rome: LII
Argyle
48 comments:
Got it all without help, but had my usual couple of erasures today - had Epsom for ASCOT and afro for POUF. Also some unknowns - ERIC Bana, ETAGE and POUF. I only knew PETIT four from previous crosswords, and ENFANT because we were taught French Christmas carols for PTA pageants in the first and second grade. I remember sweating while draped in green crepe paper, holding an old-fashioned electric Christmas tree light string. It is amazing that no one got burned or electrocuted.
Thanks Janis and Argyle for helping me pass the time after drinking my pre-colonoscopy gunk.
Greetings!
Thanks Janice and Santa!
Amusing puzzle. ETAGE and BBOY were perped. Otherwise no problem. For a change, I got the theme.
Good luck, Jinx!
Have a great day!
Very nice Tuesday offering. Played through it with no issues. Didn't need the theme, but noted it.
Rabbit, rabbit.
{A, C+, B+, A+.}
FLEA POWDER is used on ticks and fleas
To kill them dead, and stop disease!
Now I see what it's for,
Next time at the store
I'll ask for some BABY POWDER, please!
To get what you want from a rebellious BRAT
You maybe could use a ROD on his prat!
But to CURRY FAVOR
With a Miss to savor,
You'd best hide the stick, display the KARAT!
Volkswagen car dealers may wince and cower
At how diesel's become villain of the hour.
But some resort
To graphs and CHARTS,
Selling the concept with EASEL power!
A maker of glassware for convivial draughts
May make good use of his furnace's blasts.
True glass masters
Who make DECANTERS
Are know for their skill with arts and CARAFES!
Morning, all!
Got through this one a little slower than usual, but not too bad. I made a couple of dumb mistakes (ASTER before ASCOT and EGG ON before EGGED) that held me up for a bit, but nothing the perps couldn't eventually take care of. And no, I didn't guess the theme before getting to the reveal, but it was nice to go back afterwards and see it.
Happy Tuesday!
Good morning!
Obviously, 1d had to be AFRO...and I was off and stumbling. No other missteps, though. Theme? There was a theme? Thanx, Janice.
GTE -- CSO to Abejo and Jinx.
Where's NITTI? He's in the car.
A bit more like a Wednesday than a Tuesday, but I got 'er done, if a bit over usual time. Thanx, JL, for a fun CW! Thanx, Argyle, for a great write-up! Owen, B, B, C, C. Thanx for the grins!
Good Morning, Argyle and friends. I found this to be a very challenging Tuesday-level puzzle. I needed the unifier to get theme answers. CURRY FAVOR was my first theme answer after getting the POWDER.
Hand up for thinking of Afro, but I knew that couldn't be the right answer.
I wanted Graphs before CHARTS for the Boardroom Illustrations.
Frank NITTI (1886 ~ 1943), was a henchman of 40-Down: “The Untouchables” gangster = AL CAPONE. I recently listened to a podcast about Al Capone (1899 ~ 1947) because there is a new book about him, entitled Al Capone: His Life, Legacy, and Legend.
Stephen REA celebrated his 70th birthday yesterday.
QOD: Politics is the only field in which the more experience you have, the worse you get. ~ Kinky Friedman (b. Nov. 1, 1944)
White Rabbit, white rabbit.
Janice creates nice puzzles that are not too easy. I had trouble with BBOY and thought BEER TENT should have appeared last month. OCTOBER
Thanks all.
Pinch, Pinch ...
Lemon, Oktoberfest in Munich probably should be called Septemberfest. It begins in mid-September and ends in early October.
Musings
-I wanted the second words to work and so got a DOH at the reveal
-We musical people remember this famous ASCOT line, “Move your bloomin’ arse!”
-That missed 3’ PUTT counts the same as your 275 yd drive
-ENFANT Terrible
-Rapid ANKLE injury protection (:29)
-POOF became POUF when ONIT just didn’t make sense
-Will Nov. 8 find us choosing the Lesser of Two EVILS?
-Gotta run!
ENFANT is Frawnche for any child, not just a little one.
And actually, K stands for CARAT (yes, Yellowrocks, we know . . . ).
ARG I'LL have to take a FIW today. In my haste, I gelded rather than gilded.
Got the theme, but never heard the phrase "TAKE A POWDER." Why does that mean "Leave hurriedly ?" What is the derivation ?
NITTI and AL CAPONE made me think of MARI. She was into gangster era explorations and readings. And FLEA MARKETS, as I recall now.
Thought of ABEJO at GTE. Based on his comings and goings (and doings), I don't think Abejo needs any supplements to increase his vim and vigor, do you ?
AFRO ? No. UPDO ? No. POUF ? OK.
Is he ERIC Bana, or is he Bruce Banner, or is he the Incredible Hulk ?
Pure Prairie League, "I'll fix your flat tire MERLE. Don't ya get your sweet country pickin' fingers all covered with erl."
Thanks Janice and ARGYLE.
Argyle, nice write-up.
Janice: Thank you for a FUN Tuesday puzzle.
Faves today, of course, were BEER-TENT & SAY WHEN ... go figure.
GO CUBS!!!
Cheers!
Good Morning:
This was a neat, enjoyable offering from JL with just enough bite to nudge the gray matter a bit. Had no idea about the theme until the reveal which is my preferred solving experience. An obvious theme leads to a quicker solve but not one as satisfying, IMO. To be fair, though, early week-level puzzles aren't always conducive to obscuring themes. Again, that's my personal opinion. Only w/o was etape/stage and have no idea where etape came from.
Thanks, Janice, for a Tuesday treat and thanks, Argyle, for getting November off to a pleasant start.
Good luck, Jinx.
Hatoolah, re your QOD, truer words were never spoken. Nitti and Capone both died young, Poetic Justice, perhaps? I never would have guessed Stephen Rea is 70.
Have a great day.
Etape was my mistake: stage for etage is pesky, buttinski Autocorrect's doing. ACK,
Fun to see "One L" clued without a reference to law school.
Good day to all!
Overall, I found this to be a speed run today. ERIC Bana and B-BOY for "Rap fan" were complete unknowns, but filled in easily via perps. Needed the reveal to see the theme. Thanks, Janice, for today's mental exercise, and thanks, Argyle, for being our faithful guide.
Enjoy the day!
Good morning on this All Saints Day, which I had never heard of before moving to New Orleans. Schools are closed and people go to graveyards and put flowers on graves. But Halloween in my neighborhood is unreal. Kids are bussed in from all over. People have parties in front of their houses. We passed out over 500 piece of candy and ran out in just over an hour. At one point there were over 200 people in the street within 50 yards of my house. Our neighborhood assn. hires six sheriff deputies to patrol. No cars are allowed on any of the streets between 6-8 pm
The puzzle was easy and I was really expecting 'Okie from Muskogee' but 'Working Man Blues' was fine. I wanted UPDO for POUF but being a PEON who works Xwords I knew it wouldn't work. I think SKED and B-BOY are Xword words, as I've never seen them elsewhere.
Two minor disagreements- YUKON is a brand and GMC is a division of General Motors and that would make "GM" the automaker. GMC and CHEVY just have different names sold by different dealers.
If it is OCTOBER FEST, then it's BEER Tent; OKTOBER FEST would have a BIER TENT.
auf wiedersehen
TTP: Ouch! You were gelded! Hope you recover quickly.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Janice Luttrell, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for a fine review.
Argyle: FYI, GTE stood for General Telephone and Electronics (not Electric). But, you were close. The electronics portion was Sylvania, Lenkurt Electric, Leich Electric, and Automatic Electric (where I worked).
Thanks, D-O and TTP, you remembered. My Vim and Vigor is fading fast, believe me.
Hahtoolah, I liked your QOD. Too bad it's true.
Puzzle was fine. Got it done just before I went out to guard the school crossing. Now I am home and can Blog.
Theme was good. I had to get TAKE A POWDER before I could figure it out.
We had a dog named OTTO. A German Shepherd. Been gone now for well over 20 years. He was a good dog, but never liked to play. All he wanted to do was escape and chase females. Once my wife was out looking for him and saw him in the back of a police car. So she pulled the cop over and got the dog. Once I sent his name in on some ad for something or other that came in the mail. We still get mail for Otto Baker at our Johnsonburg P O Box. My wife's cousin and I were having a sandwich and a beer at the Central Hose Co. Club in Johnsonburg. The Post Office lady was sitting next to us. We were talking and I asked her if she recalls getting mail for Otto Baker at the Post office. She said yes, all the time. So, I told her the story. We all got a kick out of that.
Had no idea that ASCOT was near Windsor Castle. I remember flying over the castle once while flying into London.
No idea about ETAGE. Perps.
I used to always carry a NOTE PAD. I carried it in my shirt pocket. My friends called it my Nerd Pack. Now I carry my cell phone and use the Notes section to take notes. Works well.
Anyhow, I have to get going. Lots of paperwork to do today. I am Lodge Secretary and Commandery Recorder. It never stops.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
Good morning everyone.
Agree with the other comments.
I like Janice's puzzles. Thought this one had a bit of a mid-week bite. Got it all, thou without erasures or searches. Got the theme at the end with TAKE A POWDER.
GILD - Think it has the same roots as gold, and German Geld (money).
Jinx - good luck with your procedure. I had one a year ago which turned out OK, and Doc said I need not have any future ones. One advantage of older age, I guess.
Enfant?
Etage?
Ephooey!
Thumper! Thumper!
Two takes on take a powder,
One funny,
One VERY Dysfunctional...
No, not me Hahtoolah, but that horse will never be the same.
Spitzboov, my MIL would ask me to run to the store, and most often ask, "Hast du geld ?"
I've since read many online references that well-define "Take a Powder" as to leave hurriedly, but the etymology of the idiom is uncertain.
Worldwidewords suggests that one possibility is that "powder" is on record in Northern English and Scots as a regional word meaning hurry or rush. "It is said that powder in this sense was still known in the US early in the twentieth century and might be the origin of take a powder."
Thank you, Janice Luttrell, for a quick and fun romp today. No problem with POUF as PEON and OTTO were in place. CSO to desper-otto!
Even the French didn't faze me today. I knew ENFANT and ETAGE slowly emerged. And only now did I see LII. It simply appeared. For a change I noted the theme.
Thank you, Argyle. I suppose SOCKS could be a CSO to Argyle.
Have a delightful day, everyone!
Husker Gary:
I thought it was "the evil of two lessers".
Great Tuesday puzzle, Janice--many thanks! And fun expo, Argyle. My only nit: I had CARAT and SCED, which made more sense to me than the K words. But there were so many neat groupings, like AL CAPONE and NITTI; BEER TENT crossing STEIN; ENFANT, BABY FAT, and ARMY BRAT, among others.
Had no problem with POUF because I read the clue wrong as "High chair style." I've never heard of a "high chair style," and was totally flummoxed until the perps filled in POUF and I read the clue again. Doh!
Jinx, good luck on your procedure.
I can't believe we didn't have a single trick-or-treater yesterday, even though I had all the indoor and outdoor lights on, and a big basket of Snickers chocolate bars waiting on the entry table. We've never had more than a few, but at least the kids next door and across the street used to come by. My only guess is that Halloween parties may be replacing trick-or-treating as a safer alternative? Does that make sense? Anyway, made me a little sad, so I had to comfort myself with a few Snicker bars.
Have a great November, everybody!
Big Easy, I had the same thought about Oktoberfest until I read the item I linked above where each of the beer tents set out for Oktoberfest are discussed.
CED you naughty man.
TTP, gelded....in German GELD means money (gelt in Yiddish) my question is whether it derives from any gold related word....
This was a nice easy solve, perfect for Tuesday. Not much else to add.
Never saw POUF before, at least not in that spelling. I vaguely recall hearing the word in connection with hair, but then it was strictly perjorative. Oh, well, it fit...
Leaving aside Indian cuisine and horseflesh, can you think of anything else we CURRY besides FAVOR?
Big Easy and Lemonade, wäre es nicht Bierzelt? Zelt is the proper translation for TENT.
Happy Día de Metros, everyone!
(I would have used dia de los muertos, but People mag insists "Metros" is the proper form in Mexico.)
You're a day early, Keith. Today is All Saints Day and tomorrow is All Souls Day, or dia de los muertos. And I'm sorry but People Mag is wrong.
Keith, curry is term used in horse grooming and leather treatment, both times with the sense of improving appearance. I might even venture a guess that this meaning is the source of curry favor.
I should change that to Happy Día de los Angelitos - and maybe just add "eve" to my earlier posting. There are so many variants betwixt & between cultures I admit to a not-atypical Anglo confusion.
People magazine wrong?!! Well, I never ...!
I have no idea how this happened.
Nice Cuppa has left a new comment on your post "Wednesday, Oct 26, 2016 Patti Varol":
• ALERT: Do not go to a hairdresser in the U.K. and ask for a POUF, unless you are specifically looking to meet a homosexual man. Variants include POOF and POOFTER – all offensive terms but still widely recognized.
• I have never heard the phrase: "Take a powder". I have it as North American informal = depart quickly, especially in order to avoid a difficult situation. If the phrase did originate from Northern England/Scotland, then it only survived via immigrants to the U.S.
I wonder if it is connected to the euphemism powder one's nose.
Or maybe keep one's powder dry = remain cautious and ready for a possible emergency.
• I found this puzzle remarkably facile, maybe because of all the FRAWNCHE words: étage, petit, enfant, carafes, café – admittedly, the last 2 are in the standard English lexicon, but their pronunciation has not been Anglicized.
And FYI: the "favor" in to "curry favor" is an "alteration of Middle English curry favel, from the name (Favel or Fauvel) of a chestnut horse in a 14th-century French romance who became a symbol of cunning and duplicity". As Michael Caine would say "Not a lotta people know that".
An of course, Indian curry has a quite different etymology.
Posted by Nice Cuppa to L.A.Times Crossword Corner at November 1, 2016 at 11:37 AM
I liked this puzzle and the different powders. As my linguistics professor pointed out in a lecture on allophones, note the difference in pronunciation between SWEETTEA and sweetie, or between a white house and The Whitehouse. Well, it is/was interesting to me, anyway. Speaking of the Whitehouse, a fellow named Pierre Charles L'ENFANT designed the street layout of Washington, DC. I guess his last name is as common as that of, say, Julia Child.
I had a whirlwind day yesterday. Last Friday I suddenly got a very bad toothache in a rear molar, so bad that I called the dentist, who made an appointment to see me on Monday (yesterday) morning. So I went in, he took one look and an x-ray, and knew immediately that I needed a root canal job. An appointment was made with a specialist for that afternoon, and zip zoop it was done. I'd never had a root canal done before, but had heard all the horror stories and so on, so I was scared. It turns out they gave me plenty of anesthetic and I didn't feel a thing. Lots of sounds, vibrations, and smells, though. The hardest part was sitting basically motionless in the chair for an hour and a half. A new experience for me, not bad, but frankly I wouldn't want to have to do it again.
Best wishes and painless procedures to you all.
I can "hear" Michael Caine saying that, Argyle. Puts me in mind of something my mom once said, when I was being a smart-mouthed 4th grader and telling her the meaning of some kid-level dirty joke.
"Not a lot of nice people know that," she told me.
Seems an appropriate memory on what some folk call the Day of the Innocents.
Keith:
I have been researching dia de los metros and have found only one reference which I don't completely trust. I'll have to poll some Mexican students for this; I still have contacts at the college. I'm baffled as I've never heard that.
Jayce, et al
I had a crown put on today and it also took an hour and a half but was done in one setting. His computer measures the area and shows the shape of the new crown and grinds the new biting surface in 45 minutes. No more biting down on play-doh, living with a temp. crown and coming back weeks later while the permanent crown was made.
I will have to sub 7 days to pay for it however, even with dental insurance.
Husker Gary, that's good news about your new crown. Technology can be good. I got mine years ago the old fashioned play-doh way. I see ads on TV from Lenscrafters (or maybe it is Site For Sore Eyes) about measuring for corrective lenses with a laser rather than looking through a lens-swapping machine while trying to answer, "Is it better like this ... or like this?" Pretty cool.
Hi All!
ARG! I gotta FACE REALITY... FIW - I left AMC in @43d and not knowing French, ETeaE looked OK-ish. Did I mention I spelt FLEA as in RUNning away (flee)? :-(
Thanks to Janice for the crunchy Tuesday (West Central is a mess) and to our host Argyle - you went above and beyond rescuing NiceCuppa's post.
WO: LoaN b/f LIEN.
ESPs: REA; NITTI (wanted goTTI)
Fav: BEER TENT xing STEIN.
I also liked (my) sub-themes: ARMY BRAT, UNIT, WAR. And SEAMY AL CAPONE and NITTI SOCK'n' it to the VIC. :-)
TAKE A POWDER I've heard in sports practice. E.g. the coach telling someone to get off the field - usually due to a player's bad attitude.
{A-, B+, C+, A+}
Abejo - I'd not worry about your vim & vigor - you seem to have 2x my energy!
HG - Thanks to My Fair Lady, ASCOT was my 1st though (but I still relied on 3/5 perps).
OMK - I put 1/2 tsp CURRY in my Chili. I don't know where I got the idea from but it seems to add depth of FlAVOR :-)
Jayce & HG - Ouch! I hope they gave you more goodies for when the novocain wears off.
Big E - I thought you were a NOLA native. Being surprised by All Hallows' EVE makes me think not. All Saint's Day is a big deal for Catholics. We always got the day off while the Pagan* kids still had to go to school.
Hahtoolah - In this election cycle Kinky seems a sane alternative :-). Let's hope next Wednesday CNN isn't stuck in Miami-DADE again!
Time to catch-up on the game. GO CUBS!
Cheers, -T
*On Halloween, along w/ getting our candy-loot, we'd collect dimes in our little boxes for the Pagan kids in other parts of the world. Anyone else remember that? Lucina?
Lucina, I wonder if it was just a typo for muertos? The article may have intended only to drop the "los" that Anglos tend to sick in.
Anon-T...not a native 'Yat'. Came to New Orleans in 1972 with work. But believe it or not the school situation is now backwards. The Catholic kids went to school today but the public school kids had today off, along with many public employees.
General notes on Root Canals and crowns, by a LAYMAN ( for Jayce, HG., et.al.)
Tooth pain, in most cases, can be treated and deadened, by many over-the- counter medicines - clove oil, for one, comes to mind. Most Int Med. MDs will prescribe a couple of days worth of opioids or synth. opioids in case of an emergency. Actually the medicine may last you for a week, while you make your decision. A root canal is in many cases, not absolutely necessary, in all cases, - there are other cheaper and just as permanent, options. The problem is, by the time you have been referred to a dental specialist surgeon like an endodontist, he/she is going to decide on a root canal anyway, because, for one thing, thats his business. Plus he will refer the business of making a crown, back to the dentist who referred you to him. Thats, professional good-busines reciprocity.
In my personal experience, a good 'ordinary' dentist, can save a molar tooth, without a root canal and even a crown, if he is motivated enough. Also doing a root canal in one visit - though possible - is generally not recommended. ( this last line, from MY dentist ..)
This post is not intended to dispense free dental advice but food for thought.
It worked for a few of my friends, and for me. So.
Decide at your own risk. Space and time prevent me in giving a bigger and better explanation.
Q.E.D. - this is to 'prove' to the computer, that I am not a robot. :-D)
There's the Cubbies' bats! Game 7 here we come!
Big E - '72 - I'd say 'yat' has come. I've only been in H-Town since '98 and feel part of the city. I do miss the Midwest, but it's more about a small town, laid-back, ideal - the EDEN in Pop's backyard.
TIN - How much fun was that. C.Moe - we'll all be nail-biting tomorrow :-)
Cheers, -T
AnonT:
Yes! I do remember collecting for the pagan babies. It recalls a story one of my now departed friends used to tell. In kindergarten she was so fired up about those pagan babies she convinced her mother to give her a dollar every time the collection came around in her class for that purpose. Then every day she would check the mailbox until her mother finally asked her what she was waiting for. She expected a pagan baby to be delivered by mail. True story.
Keith:
That's exactly what I was thinking: a typo. It makes sense.
Lucina - Too Funny! Thanks for sharing - you just gave me my good night giggle. C, -T
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