A Shave and a Haircut, Two Bits! The first word of each theme answer describes a style of haircut.
17-Across. * Vocabulary gone viral: BUZZ WORDS. We have Nikola Bizumić (1823 ~ 1906) to thank for the buzz cut. He invented manual hair clippers in the late 1800s. With the advent of these clippers, barbers could easily chop hair close and fast.
26-Across. * Tee style: CREW NECK. What's the difference between a crew cut and a buzz cut? Buzz cut is the most low maintenance haircut. Crew cut has a clean fade on the sides. Crew cut is a grown up buzz cut on top. Crew cut has just enough length on top for texture.
33-Across. * "Old Time Rock and Roll" singer: BOB SEGER. Robert Clark Seger (b. May 6, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his raspy voice. When I think of Bob Seger, I immediately think of: 35-Across. "Just take those old records off the shelf / I'll sit and listen to 'em by myself," e.g.: LYRICS.
46-Across. * New Year's Day sporting event: BOWL GAME. A bowl cut is a hairstyle where the hair is cut to the same length all around the head, giving it the shape of an upside-down bowl.
52-Across. * Fluffy carpets: SHAG RUGS. A shag haircut is a layered hairstyle with choppy layers, volume, and wispy bangs. This style was popular in the 1970s.
And the unifier:
66-Across. Options package for a new car, and what can be found at the start of the answer to each starred clue: TRIM LEVEL. I am not familiar with the term Trim Level. Apparently it means a version of a car model with a specific set of features and options.
And, We start our puzzle with an Easter Egg:
1-Across. Hairless: BALD.
Across:
5. "A Nightmare on __ Street": ELM.
8. Insurance company with a duck mascot: AFLAC. The name of the insurance company comes from its original name: American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus.
13. Et __: and others: ALIA. Today's Latin lesson.
14. French champagne brand: MOËT. The full name of this champagne is Moët et Chandon, but is generally just called Moët. The company is one of the world's largest champagne producers and is a prominent champagne house. The company was established in 1743 by Claude Moët (1683 ~ 1760).
16. Slow-moving tree dweller: SLOTH.
19. Former capital of Japan: KYOTO.
20. Wow: AMAZE.
21. Gabaldon who writes the "Outlander" novels: DIANA. Diana J. Gabaldon (b. Jan. 1, 1952) is an author and television writer. She is best known for the book series Outlander. This series of book is part historical fiction, part romance, part adventure, part fantasy, and part adventure. There are about 9 books in the series. I started to read the first book, but it really isn't my style.
23. [As per the original]: SIC. We saw Latin abbreviation just last week. Sic is short for the phrase sic erat scriptum means thus it had been written. Sic is used in writing to indicate that a quotation is an exact transcription of the original source, including any errors. It's used to show that the author is aware of the errors and is reproducing the quotation as it appears in the original text.
24. __ of luxury: LAP.
28. As thick as __: THIEVES.
32. Exchange: SWAP.
39. Hoppy brew: ALE. // And 57-Across. Spot for a pint of 39-Across: PUB. Ales are becoming a crossword staple.
40. Vulgarly showy: GAUDY.
42. "The Raven" poet: POE. Edgar Allan Poe (Jan. 19, 1809 ~ Oct. 7, 1849) American writer and poet. He's best known for his short stories and poems, particularly those involving mystery and the macabre. His novel The Murders in the Rue Morgue, which was first published in 1841, is considered to be the first modern detective story.
43. Formally adopt, as a treaty: RATIFY.
49. Clown costume part that may honk: NOSE.
51. Oddballs: WEIRDOS.
56. Narc's org.: DEA. As in the Drug Enforcement Agency.
58. Home city of K-pop's BTS: SEOUL. K-pop is short for (South) Korean Popular Music. The band BTS, also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean, hence the band is from Seoul, South Korea.
60. Played out: STALE.
64. Smell: AROMA.
68. With 31-Down, Great Barrier Reef locale: CORAL. // 31-Down. See 68-Across: SEA. I recently went snorkeling in the Coral Sea. We had to wear stinger suits to protect us from the stinger jelly fish that are prevalent in the waters in the southern hemisphere summer.
69. Smack: SLAP.
70. Farm grunt: OINK.
71. Between, in French: ENTRE. Today's French lesson.
72. Mos. and mos.: YRS. Months and Months become Years.
73. Hush-hush docs: NDAs. As in Non-Disclosure Agreements.
Down:
1. __ ghanoush: BABA. Smoky Middle Eastern roasted eggplant dip with tahini, garlic, lemon, olive oil and spices. Yummers!
2. Grad: ALUM.
3. Superstar Minnelli: LIZA. Liza Mary Minnelli (b. Mar. 12, 1946) is the daughter of Judy Garland (née Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922 ~ June 22, 1969) and Vincente Minnelli (Feb. 28, 1903 ~ July 25, 1986).
4. Wows: DAZZLES.
5. Dramatically maudlin, slangily: EMO.
6. Title for an earl: LORD. There are five ranks in British peerage. In descending order those ranks are:, duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron. Below the peerage are honorary ranks that include baronet and knight. Technically, in British titles, "Lord" is not a specific rank itself, but rather a courtesy title used to address members of the peerage, generally, barons and below, meaning it falls at the lower end of the British nobility hierarchy.
7. First responder: MEDIC.
8. "No such thing as a stupid question!": ASK AWAY.
9. Go by plane: FLY.
10. Baggy: LOOSE.
11. Story in Architectural Digest?: ATTIC. Clever! The attic is the top Story in a house.
12. __-full: at capacity: CHOCK.
15. Old Russian rulers: TSARS. I discussed Tsars in last week's puzzle.
18. Create a tapestry: WEAVE. Probably the most famous tapestry is the Bayeux Tapestry, which isn't woven, but rather embroidered. If you want to see the tapestry, to NOW! The Bayeux Tapestry Museum will be closed for renovation work beginning this September and will not reopen until October 2027.
22. Many a honeymooner: NEWLYWED.
25. Title gal in a Buddy Holly hit: PEGGY SUE.
27. "Tiny Desk Concerts" producer: NPR. Tiny Desk Concerts are little musical performances that are done in the National Public Radio offices.
28. Ski lift option: T-BAR.
29. Spanish greeting: HOLA. Today's Spanish lesson.
30. "Yeah, sure": I BET.
34. __ the wrong way: RUB.
36. Apple tablet: iPAD.
37. "¿__ está usted?": COMO. More of today's Spanish lesson. I am fine, thank you very much.
38. Views: SEES.
41. __ Jones: DOW. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, Dow Jones, or simply the Dow, is a stock market index of 30 prominent companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States.
44. Gerund suffix: -ING. A gerund is any of various nonfinite verb forms that most often functions as a noun.
45. Sign of movement?: FOR SALE. Cute clue.
47. Von Trapp sister: LIESL. Liesl was a fictional von Trapp sibling created for the movie The Sound of Music. All the names of the real von Trapp children were changed for the film.
48. Rankle: GRATE ON.
50. Award quartets, for short: EGOTs. As in the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards.
52. Word separator: SPACE.
53. Lake along Michigan's thumb: HURON.
54. Scrub, as a mission: ABORT.
55. Cantankerous: SURLY.
59. "Nothing you say is true!": LIAR.
61. Voracious: AVID.
62. Headey of "Game of Thrones": LENA. Lena Headey (née Lena Kathren Headey; b. Oct. 3, 1973) portrayed Cersei Lancaster in Game of Thrones.
63. Lodge group since 1868: ELKS. Its full name is the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. It is an American fraternal order that was originally formed as a social club in New York City. It now has more than 750,000+ members at at least 1,920 lodges.
65. Tarnish: MAR.
67. U.K. lawmakers: MPs. As in Members of Parliament.
Here's the Grid:
חתולה
25 comments:
I would say this was a pretty easy puzzle, except for one thing:
I’ve never heard the phrase “trim level.” Other than that, I’d say the puzzle was “easy-peasy.” FIR, so I’m happy.
FIR, but bar->PUB, onery->SURLY, and theives->THIEVES (UNTIE!)
I was formerly a gearhead, so TRIM LEVEL was old hat for me. Seems like cars kind of look alike these days, so I've lost interest.
Ektorps AFLAC and EGOT appeared today.
Thanks to Sala and Emily for the fun, and to Ha2la for another set of chuckles. Don't you just hate when people add those aftermarket horns to their cars?
FLN - Uncle Fred mentioned the shipwrecks off the OUTER BANKS. I recommend Graveyard of the Atlantic: Shipwrecks of the North Carolina Coast by David Stick. In addition to tales of various wrecks, the book also chronicles the evolution from good-hearted individuals banding together to save lives to what is now the US Coast Guard. Amazon offers the Kindle version for $10. It should also be readily available as used hard copy - I bought mine about 40 years ago.
Also FLN - I microwave my sponge for a minute after I use it. Don't know if that kills everything, but it keeps it smelling nice. Also, I recently found out that the appliance salesman's line "no need to rinse your dishes" should really be "don't rinse your dishes." Turns out that scraping the big stuff off and letting the dishwasher take care of the rest is better for the dishwasher. It needs to sense when the amount of debris changes, so it knows when to go to the rinse cycle. Must be true - I read it on the internet.
Good morning!
Failed to look for the theme...again. [Sigh] Not too many proper names, and they were well-perped. Nice. Thanx, Sala, Emily, and Hahtoolah.
SLOTH: I learned this past week on Mutual Of Omaha's Wild Kingdom Protecting The Wild that it takes a week for a sloth to turn input into output. That's the slowest metabolism of any mammal. Young sloths are really cute.
Good Morning, Crossword Friends. When I was in the Amazon, we saw several sloths high up in the trees. We were told that if a baby sloth looses its grip on its Mama, the Mama may or may not descent the tree to retrieve her young one. If she does, it may still take several hours or days.
QOD: Home lies in the things you carry with you everywhere and not the things that tie you down. ~ Pico Iyer (né Siddharth Pico Raghaven Iyer; b. Feb. 11, 1957), British author
Took 5:29 today for me to comb over the puzzle.
Not a great start with Latin (alia), French (moet), and Spanish clues (hola & como) in the top half. And, I didn't know today's writer (Diana), but I did know today's actresses (Lena & Liza).
I am more familiar with "trim packages," but with "package" in the clue, I knew it couldn't be.
FIR. This was an easier puzzle than yesterday. I breezed through and never noticed the theme. And when I finished and looked back I saw it. But I'm not sure I've ever heard of the phrase trim level before.
But overall a fun puzzle.
Agree with KS. Went a lot faster’n yesterday but came to a halt for a spell in the SE with TRIM LEVEL. Plus had swat for SLAP. Last to fill: I hope it’s STALE which would make Headey LENI, for the win! (Yes! It is)
But like DO forgot about the theme
Laugh when CHOCK full-o-nuts coffee hasta say “contains No Nuts!!”
ELKS, B.P.O.E. Dad used to say they think they are the Best People On Earth
That’s LIZA with a “Z” (“zed” for C-eh). Liked the “story” clue.
LEISL or as my special daughter calls her in the movie … “Weasel”
Devoid of rabbits … HAIRLESS
A turn around the track in a fancy sedan chair: ___ “of luxury” … LAP
“Sport with pins and alleys” …. BOWLGAME
Flood with rodents… RATIFY
Cause of a bad massage : ___ the wrong way… RUB.
Keep this between us Wildebeests: ___ Gnu … ENTRE.
Great toons as usual H2LH
I usually judge the Penny Dell crossword to be at par with the LA Times offering. Vastly different cluing styles, but similar difficulty. But today they have "present" for NONCE and RETE for "infrastructure." Makes me appreciate Patti a bit more. The perp for the N in NONCE was "actor Jones," a late actor for Disney. The perp for RETE was "mutt," for MONGREL, which I knew but, of course, couldn't spel.
Reminds me of the old joke - the vice squad was leading a lady in handcuffs out of a massage parlor, and a guy walked up to a policeman and asked, "what'd she do?" The cop answered, "she RUBbed people the wrong way."
Musings
-I got my haircut last night but needed Hahtoolah’s great write-up to get the theme
-LYRICS: Having great old songs instead of rap obscenities was very welcome.
-Princess DIANA and LENA Horne were on the bench today
-The TRIM LEVEL of my new car did not include a garage door opener. I have to use a handheld.
-Elvis made GAUDY work!
-I remember LIESL was 16 going on 17 in a gazebo with a young Nazi
This was more Wednesday-level for me. I found yesterday's puzzle easier. LEVEL was my last fill, but TRIM came quickly and let me see the haircuts. I call it trim package. When I bought one of my cars they were so eager to sell they gave me a great trim package at no extra charge. It included the best car radio I ever had.
I, too, gave up on OUTLANDER.
STORY was my favorite fill.
The coffee brand Chock full o'Nuts is named after the 18 nut shops that founder William Black opened in New York City in the 1920s. During the Great Depression Mr. Black added coffee to his list of goods for sale.
I must leave for the nonce to go to writers' workshop. Nonce is old fashioned.
Good Morning:
I was certain that the reveal was going to be related to hair cuts/styles, therefore the reveal was quite a surprise, especially since the phrase Trim Level was completely new to me. No unknowns and no w/os led to a quick and easy solve.
Thanks, Sala and Emily, and thanks, Hahtoolah, for an informative and entertaining review. Favorite comics today were the “Oink” travelers, the airport boarding line, and the astronauts “space” mistake.
Have a great day.
I just bought a new car, and never once at the dealership did I hear the phrase "trim level." Nonetheless, here it served as an apt reveal that led to the various kinds of haircuts.
It was rare to see such a conglomeration of Z's, like the three in the NW where BUZZWORDS crossed DAZZLED. And the latter crossed AMAZE, with the two having clues of "Wow" and "Wows." Nicely done.
Thanks, Hahtoolah, for your review and guidance today, and thanks, Sala and Emily, for an enjoyable Tuesday-appropriate challenge .
FIR in about 10, had all the themers before the reveal, WEES about not knowing TRIM LEVEL. I liked all the musical references, favorite song from BOB SEGER, “Roll Me Away”. Is BALD an Easter egg? CSO to Lucina with Hola. An entertaining puzzle and recap, thanks to the collaborators for the grid and Hahtoolah for your illustrative blog!
This felt like á Monday Puzzle would feel. I breezed through it with just á slight slow down in the SE, quickly resolved. Neat clean-cut theme with á fun reveal. And á bonus with 1a, BALD. Clever.
Thank you Hahtoolah for the review. Interesting about the SLOTH.
Comb over is hilarious.
Thanks for the puzzle, and write up! Love all the visual splainin'...
It does evoke a couple of curiosities tho...
Old enough to have purchased more than one car, didn't want all the extras, got them for free anyway as that was the only style the dealer had in stock.
(Don't fret for the dealer, they will find another way to rip you off...)
obligatory silly theme link
Also, an honorable mention...
Also, as well, my personal visual of a bowl cut was when they don't cut anything above where a bowl would be, and cutting all hair length the same would be "styled," although I'm sure there must be a proper name for that style of cut. what say you Chairman Moe?
Lastly, the age old debate of dishwasher rinse or not to rinse, hmm, as I get older, I am leaning towards the No rinse being the better option. Especially to avoid cloudy glasses etc... there is one glaring exception though, your dishwasher must have easy access to clean the filter. If you ever had a Kitchenaid dishwasher, you will know the agony of disassembling the entire doodad just to get to the filter! I can't understand why they built them that way, unless it was to get people to buy a new dishwasher every time the filter gets clogged...
HOLA! DIANA Gabaldon is a native of Arizona from Flagstaff. I believe she lives here in Scottsdale and she has been featured in the local newspaper. I've never read any of her books as I'm not interested in the themes.
When I first bought this condo it was covered wall to wall with SHAG RUGS, including the bathrooms. I replaced them with tile except in the bedrooms and living room.
I also saw SLOTHS on the tree tops in Costa Rica. It's a wonder that they don't fall off.
ATTIC was cleverly clued. MAR means sea in Spanish. Me too, about TRIM LEVEL. I've never heard that.
YooperPhil: Thank you for the CSO!
My bank saga continues but it's getting closer to a conclusion.
Have a happy day, everyone!
Another great puzzle today -- thanks, Sala and Emily! When DH bought his last car, he had to wait for delivery, because he wanted a higher TRIM LEVEL than the ones on the lot -- he values a great sound system. The play on haircuts as TRIMs was cute.
I tried to watch the Outlander series on TV because my hairdresser loved it, but I found it ridiculous. I suspect the novels are much the same.
Hahtoolah, we were surrounded by jellyfish in the Sea of Cortez last week, and most of our swimming efforts were spent avoiding them. Wish we'd had your stinger suits! Thanks for a great explanation of today's puzzle.
Struggled in that area with LIESL/LEVEL/LENA but FIR.
This launch into SPACE yesterday at sunset definitely did AMAZE me.
Lucina I am still utterly mystified how a bank can kick you out due to their security incompetence. I have never heard of such a thing.
Neat Tuesday puzzle, many thanks, Sala and Emily. And thanks for your helpful commentary, even giving us a chance to listen to some music, Hahtoolah! Much appreciated.
Well, I BET this event, attended by LORDS and TSARS and their partners, would certainly DAZZLE all the guests--especially the NEWLYWEDS. The place had a lovely AROMA, and many AVID fans enjoyed drinking the ALE supplied by the PUB. But mostly it was fun to listen to the music, especially to the LYRICS of some of the songs. A great party--I just wish I could have attended it.
Have a happy and cheerful day, everybody.
You found it Outlandish😀 like I did and “touched that dial”
Sometimes he felt like a nut, some times he didn’t (and made coffee instead)
Hi All!
Thanks Sala & Emily for the puzzle. I had a bit of a slowup in the south (LIESL & LENA weren't helping).
Thanks, Hahtoolah, for the expo and comics (Sloth was LOL and Medic was funny).
WO: IPA -> ALE
ESPs: DIANA, LIESL, LENA
Fav: ENTRE 'cuz it made me think of RUSH's ENTRE Nous [4:38]
I've heard TRIM LEVEL but kept thinking "package." It wasn't 'till AVID filled that it hit me.
Fav BOB SEGER songs is a tossup between Roll Me Away (Hi JooperPhill!) and Night Moves.
Cool pic, Picard. Where was the launch?
Jinx / YR - nonce is "used for one occasion." We use the word in cryptography and networking for an arbitrary psudo-random number to defend against reply attacks or to setup cryptographic channels
CED - Yep, I have a Kitchenaid so I make sure the dishes are scraped and rinsed (with one of these) before going in because of that stupid filter.
Cheers, -T
AnonT Thanks for the kind words about my photo of the SPACE launch that did AMAZE all who saw it. The launch was from Vandenberg, which is about 50 miles from here. Vandenberg is in Lompoc and features in the Roger Ramjet cartoons of my childhood.
I took the photo in the park across the street from us. Sunset makes for some spectacular effects. You can see the rocket as a small white spot at the bottom of the shock wave.
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