Word: penchant
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...anything can rescue the French from their battle with mediocrity, it is their strong historic penchant for critical self-reflection. Just before De Gaulle returned to power, an editorial in a small provincial newspaper complained about France's fascination with diminutives. "Everybody wants his petite maison, his petit jardin, his petite femme, and finally his petite retraite," it said. "At this rate we will surely end up as un petit peuple." Part of De Gaulle's magic lay in his ability to lift his countrymen from such petty aspirations -and from such deep self-doubt. Now both appear...
Another musical, Jimmy, profiles the last really Fun Mayor of Fun City, Jimmy Walker. Broadway's unceasing penchant for self-celebration will provide a whole clutch of musicals, among them Hocus-Pocus (Harry Houdini) and W.C. (Fields could have thought of a better title). The Girls Upstairs is a tale of Ziegfeld Girls who have passed their prime, and Shubert Alley is about the three brothers who gave Broadway some of its more pungent history...
Greasy Kid Stuff. Drysdale's reputation was built on more than statistics. His penchant for throwing "dusters" prompted Atlanta Braves Slugger Hank Aaron to label him a "mean" pitcher, and San Francisco Manager Herman Franks hinted last year that Drysdale had more on the ball than honest sweat. That led to Drysdale's "greasy kid stuff" commercial,* which still regularly appears on television. His boyish visage and brash charm also won him spots on The Rifleman and the Donna Reed Show, and he once sang with Milton Berle in a Las Vegas nightclub. He also owns a rich...
...will depend largely on the views of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Washington's watchdog over Wall Street. The times would seem to call for a tough-minded decision maker as SEC chairman. In Hamer H. Budge, the SEC has instead a tranquil, kindly administrator who has a penchant for delay. In addition, Budge last week was accused of "gross, clear, conspicuous, transparent conflict of interest...
Embroiled in Controversy. The three decisions exemplified the court's insistence that the states observe strictly the Constitution's guarantees of fair procedure. They also typified what University of Chicago Law Professor Harry Kalven Jr. calls the Warren court's "appetite for action" and its penchant for "taking on tough social questions where the pressures were very high." That penchant has, of course, kept Warren and his associates embroiled in constant controversy. The court has been accused of everything from coddling criminals and handcuffing the police to approving hard-core pornography and banishing God from the public...