google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, May 3, 2016 Janice Luttrell

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May 3, 2016

Tuesday, May 3, 2016 Janice Luttrell

Title: Word Combinations - The first word of the first three long climbers can be placed ahead of the word, FIGURE.

3. Manual transmission : STICK SHIFT. Stick Figure

9. Husband of a fabled storyteller, in an L. Frank Baum title : FATHER GOOSE. Father Figure

24. One on the FBI's "Most Wanted" list : PUBLIC ENEMY. Public Figure

31. Ship's bow decoration ... and, literally, the first word of 3-, 9- and 24-Down : FIGUREHEAD. 3-, 9-, and 24-Down are the FIGURE HEADS.

Argyle here. Neat getting the reveal into the last spot. I had 3-Down and 24-Down filled in and looked for a theme. I thought I had it but thought, "EWW!". They had TICKS and LICE. I was relieved to find there weren't any more, shall we say, nits.

Across:

1. Old West chasers : POSSE

6. Child in the kitchen : CHEF



10. Sleep under the stars, with "out" : CAMP

14. Stage performer : ACTOR

15. Dance often accompanied by a ukulele : HULA

16. Heavenly bear : URSA

17. A Marx brother : CHICO

18. Be the lookout for, say : ABET

19. Angler's gear : REEL

20. Sounds of time : TOCKS. I know where the TICKS are.

21. Pretense : CHARADE

23. Hold on to : KEEP

25. 43-Down alum Cheri : OTERI. "Saturday Night Live" alumna, Cheri Oteri.

 
26. __ of thousands : CAST

28. GM labor group : UAW. (full name: International Union of United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America)

30. Seaman's double-breasted jacket : REEFER. This link may be TMI but interesting. LINK


 
 
34. "Excuse me?" : "HUH?"

35. Fit for the task : ABLE

36. Upscale chocolate brand : GODIVA

37. Bush spokesman Fleischer : ARI. White House Press Secretary.

38. Take to the skies : FLY



39. Letters in some email addresses : AOL

40. Ring insert : GEM

41. Spotted cats may be spotted on one : SAFARI. Cool cross with AFRICA.

43. Column-lined walkway : STOA

 
44. Game name often shouted during play : UNO. Kids love this game.

45. Like grams and liters : METRIC

46. Wii forerunner : NES. (Nintendo Entertainment System)

47. __ and crafts : ARTS

48. Immune system component : T-CELL

50. Otherwise : ELSE

52. Miss Teen USA contest, e.g. : PAGEANT

55. Cigar remains : ASHES

58. Proctor's handout : EXAM

59. Like a frittata : EGGY

62. Talk show interviewee : GUEST

63. Height: Pref. : ALTI. (altitude)

64. Glutton's demand : MORE. Was Oliver a glutton then?

65. Use a soapbox : ORATE

66. Some undershirts : TEEs

67. The "Y" in YSL : YVES. (Yves Saint Laurent)

68. Honda Accord, e.g. : SEDAN

Down:

1. Treaty : PACT

2. Tres y cinco : OCHO. 3+5=8 (Cinco de Mayo Thursday)

4. Place for a plug : SOCKET

5. Unevenly notched, as leaf edges : EROSE

6. "__-ching!" : CHA or "KA-ching!

7. Wheel center : HUB

8. Vote into office : ELECT

10. Like a spicy Indian chicken dish : CURRIED

11. Locale : AREA

12. Teacher's graduate deg. : MSED. The Master of Education (M.Ed., Ed.M., M.A.Ed., M.A.E., M.S.Ed., M.S.E., or M.Ed.L.)

13. Lacking color : PALE

22. Colored part of the iris : AREOLA. I'm confused; the iris is the colored part of the eye. I did enjoy searching for an image of an AREOLA though but nothing iris related showed up.

25. What borrowers do : OWE

26. Deep gap : CHASM

27. Surrounding glows : AURAE

29. Prince __ Khan : ALY

32. Blessed __ : EVENT

33. 1990s Philippine president : RAMOS. Fidel V. Ramos, Wiki LINK.

35. Kilimanjaro's locale : AFRICA

39. Wolfed down : ATE

42. Greek goddess of the hunt : ARTEMIS

 
43. NBC sketch series, briefly : SNL

47. Guarantee : ASSURE

49. Statehouse official: Abbr. : LT.GOV. (lieutenant governor)

51. Old Nigerian capital : LAGOS. 1991, the Federal Government was relocated to Abuja. However, Lagos still remains the financial center of the country.


52. __ moss : PEAT

53. Wheelbarrow shaft : AXLE

54. Scandal suffix : GATE

56. This, to a señora : ESTA

57. WWII machine gun : STEN. British tommy gun.

60. LSAT cousin : GRE. (Graduate Record Examination)

61. Word of assent : YES, and a roundabout way of saying I'm done.


 
Argyle


40 comments:

George Barany said...

Crazy-looking grid by @Janice Luttrell, and I'm curious what compelled her to place all the theme entries and the reveal vertical rather than the much more common horizontal. However, it was ultimately a relatively easy and very satisfying solve, with few missteps and a nice "aha" at the end (who knew that the author of "The Wizard of Oz" also created FATHER_GOOSE?!) I also appreciate Argyle's writeup and analysis.

ICYMI, the incredible @Elizabeth Gorski has created a puzzle entitled Strong and True to commemorate the launch of this book by award-winning author Judith Dupré about a New York City architectural marvel. I recommend it highly!

OwenKL said...

With a thunder of hooves, the POSSE rode out.
The bad guy they'd capture, of that they'd no doubt!
They had lasso and riata,
As much rope as they oughta
To play hangman when the got to STICK FIGURE's hideout!

Most men, getting older, develop a spare tire;
Love handles, muffin tops, a paunch they acquire!
They evolve into dads,
And children need pads,
So stout men have the FATHER FIGURES they require!

An AXLE fits a HUB, like a plug in a SOCKET.
Some men fit their jobs, like a hand in a pocket.
But scandals are sown
When the pocket's not their own --
Sums are PUBLIC FIGURES, when PUBLIC FIGURES are in the docket!

{A-, B+, A-.}

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Bit on the slow side for me today, especially on the East Coast. Knew pea coat, but never heard of REEFER (unless you're talking a marijuana joint). RAMOS was also unknown to me. The perps eventually got me where I needed to go, but definitely not in any sort of hurry.

I really wanted JULIA for 6A, but it didn't fit. CHEF certainly fits, but it seems like the clue really needed an "e.g." in order to be completely fair. But that's all right -- I'm still trying to figure out AIL from the other day...

Everything else was smooth sailing today, and the theme was cute (although I didn't notice it until I got to the reveal).

Hungry Mother said...

Very solid Tuesday offering. No write-overs.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Ahh, a Wite-Out free morning! Nicely done Janice and Argyle. I'd never heard a peacoat referred to as a REEFER. In my navy days you put food in the reefer -- refrigerator.

Argyle, interesting comment on AREOLA -- "nothing iris related."

thehondohurricane said...


Every square was filled in, but I wasn't sure they were correct until coming here. The crossing T for T CELL & ARTEMIS was a big time WAG. T CELL was unknown to me & ARTEMIS did not seen feminine. I was dragged into the T by recalling ARTEMuS Gordon, a character in an old TV show Wild Wild West played by Ross Martin. The crossing E for AREOLA & REEFER was another wag for those two unknowns.

For some reason, I felt Marcos was the fill for 33D, but it wouldn't fit and RAMOS eventually appeared. The only RAMOS I'm familiar with is Pedro RAMOS, a former MLB pitcher for the Washington Senators and CC's beloved Twins. I'm sure he played for other teams too.

So today's success was more luck then knowledge. What the heck, I'll take it.

We are into the second day of rain and 50 degree temps. I wouldn't be too upset if the temps reached the high 60's, low 70's for a few days. Unfortunately, not in the forecast.

Yellowrocks said...

Interesting, easy puzzle.
I knew REEFER with just one or two perps. I learned of it in the Royal Navy sailing novels. I see it is used in the U.S. Navy,too. The reefer type peacoat has gold buttons and officer's insignia on it.
See the first paragraph in WIKI PEACOAT.
As I understand it, the iris is the muscle that contracts and dilates to control the amount of light entering the eye. The areola is part of the iris, the ring of color. Am I mistaken? Those with a medical education, please comment.
My type of iris:
Link iris
Hello, Blue Iris. How are you today?

inanehiker said...

Creative puzzle today - needed the reveal clue to get the theme, but didn't need it to solve.
WBS about REEFER. Great explanation of Areola by YR - even being in the medical field my head first went to the IRIS flower since they are blooming everywere around me here.

Thanks Argyle and Janice!

unclefred said...

A really enjoyable CW which I managed in about my usual Teasday time, with no write-overs. My wife is Filipina, but it took a brain cramp to remember Ramos, my brain kept coming up with Marcos. Anyway, a fun CW, thanx, Janice! And a very nice write-up, thanx, Argyle! And thanx to Owen too for the morning limericks.

Husker Gary said...

I guess yelling TAG while you’re playing UNO isn’t particularly helpful on this nice Tuesday tester.

Musings
-Every person I try to draw is essentially a STICK FIGURE
-FATHER GOOSE and CHARADE starred my fav ACTOR
-The hind quarter and tail of that URSA can serve as a calendar
-That CAST of thousands can cost much less with CGI
-A SAFARI can be wonderful if the only shooting is done with the crossword staple: an SLR
-In 1961 my science teacher told us, “Our country will be all METRIC by 1970.”
-I had to hand out a horrible EXAM yesterday but I’ll never say anything
-A girl in my daughter’s class was so PALE they called her bucket
-9 am tee time!!

Madame Defarge said...

Good Morning,

I'm not sure why, but this was quite a speed run for me. Many of my first choices were correct, but I also checked downs on every first pass across, which I sometimes neglect to do. I had the same issues with wanting Julia, Marcos, and peacoat.

Now that I have an Accord SEDAN, I miss driving my STICKSHIFT Jetta. I prefer driving STICK--especially in the winter when I feel I have more control. However, my Accord has nice pick up so I can merge into traffic easily. My husband insisted I have a bigger car for chauffeuring grandchildren. So, we bought a used Honda--my favorite feature: Bluetooth radio phone tie in. It's so safe. However, I seldom initiate calls in the car, but I can easily answer them if I need to.

Janice, thanks for a fine Tuesday run. I liked the vertical theme clues for a change of pace. Argyle, you once again prove to be an excellent tour guide. Thanks.

Stay well, everyone!

Tinbeni said...

Good Job on the write-up Argyle.
Janice: Thank You for a FUN Tuesday puzzle with a nice theme.

Glad to see that RAMOS was correct, needed ESP to get him.

Hmmm, regarding REEFER ... at Villa Incognito we say: "Smoke'em, if you got'em."

Cheers!

Sonia said...

Loved the puzzle, today......................maybe because I got it all!

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Unusual to have the theme in vertical fill but it worked out nicely. A few head scratchers here and there such as with CHEF and AREOLA, but perps helped and there were no misfires. Remembered OCHO. Knew LAGOS, but not the new capital.

Anon -T - Enjoy your late night ruminations.

CanadianEh! said...

Fun SAFARI today. (I did note the crossing with AFRICA and also the Nigerian capital). Enjoyed the theme when it revealed. Thanks Janice and Argyle.

Hand up for wanting Julia, Marcos, and peacoat. I also had Harpo before CHICO. I did remember GRE from recent puzzles and EROSE is a word that I learned long ago when I started do CWs but haven't seen for a while.
It was CHASM not Abyss or Abysm today.

I refuse to learn to drive STICKSHIFT. DH brought a standard transmission pickup truck home for me to test drive. After a "jack-rabbit" drive down the quiet back street, I refused to drive it any farther. Needless to say, he did not buy it, LOL!

Have a great day.

C6D6 Peg said...

Nice puzzle today by Janice. Thank you for an enjoyable outing. Loved the theme entries going down! Nice change-up.

Thanks, Argyle, for your continued great write-ups. Always enjoy your pics of places.... would love to get them for jigsaw puzzles!

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

Fun puzzle with a clever and hidden theme, for me, anyway. Had a bit of a bite for a Tuesday but easily dealt with by perps. Reefer, as clued, was unknown to me, also.

HG - We share a fondness for Mr. Grant. I think I have watched An Affair To Remember over 100 times and the final scene still brings me to tears. (Sentimental sap, that I am!). Gregory Peck is a close runner-up to Cary.

Thanks, Janice, for a Tuesday treat and thanks, Argyle, for a grand tour, especially the hilarious Julia Child clip.

Have a great day.



Faith said...

Here is a classic music video from the 80's: FATHER FIGURE

And, In case you are wondering...her name was Tania Coleridge and she has an interesting biography.

Jerome said...

Rowan- "What's that thing in the wall?"

Martin - "Looks like a SOCKET to me!"

SwampCat said...

Quick romp for me with no write-overs. Not sure why, but all the unknowns were filled by perps. I guess I was on the right wavelength, but it sure was fun.

Thanks for the explanations, Argyle, and especially the Julia Child clip.

Loved the poems today, Owen,

CrossEyedDave said...

Learning moment: Reefer, I found it enlightening. (but didn't light up...)

Stick figure philosophy.

Never had a father figure?

Oh, so that's why they went public...

Just something I copied from Facebook this AM, & didn't want to erase...

Lucina said...

Hand up for really wanting JULIA but couldn't squeeze it in so CHEF sidled in. When reading the clue for FATHERGOOSE I thought it would be Auntie Em's husband but of course he was not in the title. Otherwise this was an easy romp and made me want MORE. Very appropriate to have POSSE over ACTOR then CHICO.

My first sound of time was TOLL until TOCKS emerged.

Thank you, Janice Luttrell and thank you, Argyle. The theme eluded me and not only makes perfect sense but its clever as well.

Have a stupendous day, everyone!

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Hand up for not knowing this meaning of Reefer. Otherwise, smooth sailing.

Howdy Argyle, I wondered whether you'd bring out the Blog Standard Areola Picture!

Yellowrocks said...

C E Dave, I loved the adorable kitty with her amusing reflection.
I used to watch Julia Child. I never saw her so exuberant. That clip must have been one of her earlier ones.
Can someone please link the Wiki peacoat link. It keeps breaking for me. The reefer picture does not look much like a peacoat to me.
I am a Cary Grant fan, too.
So many of the old time movies and TV shows are still available in reruns.

Argyle said...

YR, did you have any trouble with my link?

Northwest Runner said...

A pleasant romp with a few learning moments for me. Enough quick entries to make the harder stuff perpable, but I thought it was a bit tough for a Tuesday. Enough obscurity and trickiness that seemed more suited to later in the week.

Yellowrocks said...

Argyll, the one in your write up was so complicated. Wiki in the first paragraph makes it clear, especially, the picture.It is far from an ordinary peacoat. Most of us would not recognize it.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Like others, I knew Pea Coat, which wouldn't fit, but not REEFER, not in this usage. So, I learned something this morning. My guess is that the popularity of Pea coats in surplus stores after the war was partly attributable to their plain black buttons. I mean who really wants to be stuck with fancy brass on what is clearly a functional man's man's jacket? Officers only, I guess--for no other purpose than to remind underlings that "RHIP." I wore a pea coat in my late teen years, along with my first beard, when trying to pass as a beatnik.
I was a great Oz fan as a younger kid, but didn't know about Baum's connection to FATHER GOOSE. Another learning step.
Happily, I didn't even notice the theme until after solving the pzl. Sometimes knowing the theme helps, but not today, at least not for me.

Misty said...

I was almost afraid I was going to have a Tuesday DNF--with the same problem as Barry G., that eastern mid-section. REEFER looked logical but nothing else came to me until I finally remembered GODIVA chocolate. You can tell I haven't had any chocolate in ages. What a relief when it finally all filled in, and I was now also able to get the theme! So, many thanks, Janice--and you too, Argyle.

Guess, I'm generally not into food this morning because I never thought of JULIA CHILD until CHEF just filled in automatically.

Liked your FATHER FIGURE limerick, Owen.

Have a great day, everybody!

Argyle said...

Sorry but I'm confused. Are you saying it should look like this? A long pea coat or great coat, worn by James Dean. The reefer was a jacket length so it could be worn while climbing in the rigging

My link has a couple of pop-ups you have to disable but no other problems for me.

Spitzboov said...

Argyle @ 1344 - I own a coat like that. Government issue ROTC 1955. 100% wool with a winter liner. Shoulder epaulets to which one's rank insignia are pinned. We called it an overcoat. Wore it through out 27 years of Naval service. Never bought a bridge coat. Wore it with civvies, too. One of the few uniform articles authorized to be worn with the uniform or as civilian attire.

Lemonade714 said...

boov, thanks for the cool piece of knowledge

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Thanks, Janice! Thanks, Argyle! Fun & fast puzzle. Got it filled then went back to read the clues I'd missed.

Tried REEFER when "peacoat" didn't fit. Must have picked this up somewhere. Think maybe the original tag said REEFER in the neck of the peacoat I wore all through high school. My black buttons had an anchor on them and mostly clinked around in my pocket because they wouldn't stayed sewed on. When all of them were off, I'd sew 'em back on. That coat was very threadbare by the time I graduated and left it at mom's when I moved to Texas.

The IRIS bed on the slope between my house and the neighbors is lovely right now. Huge white blooms flanked by deep purple ones. Hail knocked a couple of stems over, but didn't shred them. Today we are seeing the sun all day for the first time in weeks. Grass is a foot high because it is too muddy in places to bring in the big mower.

Learned to drive a STICKSHIFT. My FATHER was a rural mail carrier with a 120 mile route, many of them on dirt back roads. He had to have the STICKSHIFT when the roads were muddy. He had a jeep for the worst weather seasons but the family sedan with standard transmission was kinder to a bad back. My first three personal pickups on the farm also had STICK.

Avg Joe said...

I'm also surprised at how unknown the reefer jacket is. Don't know that I ever had one, but I've heard them called that most of my life.....along with peacoat. Didn't know the distinction of brass buttons, though, so that was a learning moment.

This was Tuesday appropriate. No true hangups, but the Julia/chef fill was a speedbump. At least it was the same train of thought, so that helped.

Fun puzzle. Thank you Scott!

Jayce said...

Fun puzzle. I was writing in most of the across answers so quickly that I didn't even see several of the down entries and clues. Took some thinking to get REEFER and RAMOS. Unfortunately, I had put in NEC at 46A, which gave me FATHER GOOCE which I didn't notice until the lack of tada fanfare made me go back to find where I erred.

The overcoat they issued to US Air Force airmen 50 or so years ago, of which I was one, looked something like this, except I remember mine was a darker blue than that. I wore it maybe three times in four years.

Best wishes to you all.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Stick shift was the only way to drive back in the day. Maybe automatics had come out but they were certainly rare. I learned to drive twice, both times on stick. Number one was at home, with my step-dad and mom each trying to teach me. Very difficult trying to learn a stick shift on San Francisco hills. Picture this: you're driving up a very steep hill and coming to a stop sign. You manage to stop all right, but then you're faced with the restarting problem of shifting from neutral into low gear while gravity is pulling you back one foot per second. Add another car right behind you.
I failed to learn over two weeks of trying--after I hit another car. Gently, mind you. But it was parked, and I had miscalculated the width of our car. That's when my folks reminded me that cities like SF have excellent public transport.
I had better luck the second time I learned--from a fellow student in grad school. He wanted to go from the east coast back to California and needed someone to share the driving. He taught me (again on stick), and he taught me well. We were both theater directing students, and when he noticed that I was overly concerned about what was to the right and left of the car (beginners having little sense of a vehicle's width), he reminded me that as directors we coach actors to keep their character goals in mind. He would point to the far end of the block and say, "Keep your eye on that, and let it pull you through." Excellent advice.

Avg Joe said...

I learned to drive on a tractor. A Farmall H. I was 8 and it was a forgiving vehicle to learn on. Next came a 1955 F200 pickup, which was a lot less forgiving. I don't think I drove an automatic until I was at least 12. The only standard tranny vehicle we currently own is another tractor. A JD 2510 (unless you count that H, which I still have, but it hasn't run since 1988). It's a good skill to have, and it's also quite a bit more fun than an automatic, but these days it doesn't quite rise to an essential skill, IMO.

Keith, I can't even imagine trying to learn in San Francisco on a stick. Nope! Not even if one of my childhood friends used his famous line: WouldyoucouldyoucouldIcoaxyouawc'monyousaidyouwouldyouwannadon'tyouhuh? Not a chance.

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Thanks, Janice and Santa!

Had to perp REEFER and LAGOS. Otherwise, pretty easy going.

Cary Grant--my all time favorite movie star!

Cheers!

Bill G. said...

Cary Grant: "Judy, Judy, Judy." Did he every really say that in a movie? Did you like "To Catch a Thief"?

I could drive an automatic and a stick. Amazingly enough, I taught all of our kids and Barbara too. She had a driver's license from Long Island but wasn't a very good driver. Her parents weren't good drivers (IMO). I taught her to drive our 65 VW. It was our only car at the time. It took a lot of patience but I knew that at the beginning and prepared myself.

Anonymous T said...

Hi All:

Late again (and best links taken [see: FATHER FIGURE from anon]) though I did the puzzle earlier. I didn't get the Trib on the way to the pond so I had to Mensa.com/print->.pdf/email to Pop/print it. I gave a duplicate to Pop's DW, but I don't think she had time for it.

My take - Basically WBS. Julia and Markos wanted at first but neither fit. The East Coast was a long time coming. It didn't help that I had GaDIVA.

Thanks Janice for a fun, full-FIGURE'd, pzl and thanks Argyle for the fine writeup (your comment on 22d didn't escape me - LOL!)

WOs: I started w/ STandard transmission at 1st. It didn't quite fit :-(. I thought 9d was going to be FAT-something (Albert?). Bzzt again. And, if I ever remember the sequence of letters in OTERI, hell will freeze over.

I'll go w/ 16a (REEL) as my fav. We were REELin' 'em in today. Bro won with 15 or so fish. I got 2 bass, some bluegill and some cropie (sp?). It was all catch and release. It would have been fun and peaceful but for the Buffalo-gnats flying in my ears/eyes/nose.

OKL - Well done. #2 == fav; I know that feeling :-)

CED - If I got your addr right (not AOL), you should have a pic of Pop's cat contemplating my puzzle.

Tonight Sis had us as GUESTs for Pasta Carbonara out at her farm. Oh boy was it good. The farm is cool too. Pop & I roamed the old barns for boards of fir (we found some).

I love my Civic STICK SHIFT and the Alfa is even more fun. I never want an auto-tranny - even in Houston's traffic. You give up too much control w/ Auto IMHO.

The clock ticks and TOCKS. Heading to STL @8:30a for tomorrow's flight to HOU.

Cheers, -T