Swingers: The word Swing can be placed before the first word of each theme answer to swing the phrase into an
entirely new concept.
OR
17-Across. * Capital letter creator: SHIFT KEY. Swing Shift. The Swing Shift is a work shift that occurs between the day and night shifts, typically from about 4:00 pm to Midnight. It is called the Swing Shift because is is between day and night. It was also the name of a 1984 rom-com movie that starred Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell.
25-Across. * Group that plays in foursomes: BRIDGE CLUB. Swing Bridge
36-Across. * Say something that doesn't need to be said: STATE THE OBVIOUS. Swing State We'll probably be hearing a lot about Swing State in the coming year. A Swing State is defined as a US State where the two major political parties have similar levels of support among voters, thus it is viewed as critical in determining the overall result of a presidential election.
44-Across. * Classic Motown hit about a wedding ring: BAND OF GOLD. Swing Band. Instead of the Motown hit, I'll give you some swing from Brian Setzer.
And now for the unifier:
55-Across. Playground fixture, or an apt description of the beginnings of the starred clues: SWING SET.
Across:
1. Humble home: HUT.
4. Guest speaker's platform: DAIS. I thought I knew what a
Dais was, but apparently I was confusing it with a Podium. Did you know
the difference?
8. One of Santa's reindeer: DASHER. After getting the "D"
and "ER" in place, I had several choices: Dasher, Dancer or Donner, as
per the song Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer. But did you
know that in the original 1823 poem we now know as "Twas the Night Before
Christmas", the reindeer names were: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet and
Cupid, Dunder and Blixem. The final two names were changed in 1949. [Name # 1, fictional.]
14. Sense of self: EGO.
15. Labor agcy.: OSHA. As in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
16. Protect in glass, say: ENCASE.
19. Legendary Kentucky basketball coach Rupp: ADOLPH. Since
very few people are named Adolph these days, his name alone indicates that he
did not coach recently. Adolph Fredrick Rupp (Sept. 2, 1901 ~ Dec. 10, 1977) played basketball for the University of
Kansas in the early 1920s. After coaching high school basketball for a
few years, he moved to the University of Kentucky, where he coached the game
for over 40 years. [Name # 2, real person.]
20. __ Angeles Guitar Quartet: LOS. Everything you wanted to
know about the LAQG but
didn't know to ask. [Name adjacent.]
21. "Now I get it!": AHA!
23. Ma's ma: NANA. The most popular names for Grandmother by State.
24. Bygone Russian space station: MIR. This Russian space
station orbited the earth from 1986 until 2001.
28. Danced to "La cumparsita," say: TANGOED. The musical
piece was written in early 1916 by an 18-year old architecture student
Gerardo Hernán Matos Rodríguez (Mar. 18, 1897 ~ Apr. 25, 1948).
The title of the piece means Little parade. Although
the piece is not a Tuesday-level clue, Tango was the first thing that popped
into my brain.
30. Chip's partner: DALE. Chip and Dale are chipmunk cartoon characters. They are named in reference to the 18th century furniture maker, Thomas Chippendale
(1718-1779). [Name # 3, fictional.]
31. Bullion bars: INGOTS. This word has been in the news
recently.
32. Raison d'__: ÊTRE. Today's French lesson.
33. Singer Sumac: YMA. We haven't see Ms. Sumac in quite a
while. She used to appear with some frequency. Her full name
was Zoila Emperatriz Chávarri Castillo (Sept. 13, 1922 ~ Nov. 1, 2008).
No wonder she went by Yma. Her stage name means How Beautiful in
Quechua language, which is spoken by the indigenous people of Peru.
[Name # 4, real person.]
39. Head cover: HAT.
40. Peek: LOOK.
41. Duration: LENGTH.
42. Bravo preceder: ALFA. A reference to the NATO phonetic
alphabet.
43. Able to feel: SENSATE.
48. Covert __: OPS.
49. "This seems bad!": UH, OH!
50. NBA legend Ming: YAO. At 7-feet, 5-inches, Yao Ming (b. 12, 1980) had to become a basketball player. After playing
basketball for the Shanghai Sharks for several years, he was drafted by the
Houston Rockets, where he played for nearly a decade. His wife, Ye Li,
is over 6 feet tall, and played professional basketball in China women's
national basketball team at the 2004 Summer Olympics. [Name #5, real
person.]
51. "It's __-win situation": A NO.
52. Walks leisurely: MOSEYS.
59. Christie sleuth Hercule: POIROT. Agatha Christie (née
Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller; Sept. 15, 1890 ~ Jan. 12, 1976) created the
fictional Belgian detective Hercule Poirot 1920, when he appeared in her first
published novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles. He was so
popular that he appeared in 33 of Christie's novels and many more short
stories. [Name # 6, real person and Name # 7, fictional.]
60. Panache: ELAN.
61. Corn serving: EAR.
62. Burnout cause: STRESS.
63. "Auld Lang __": SYNE. Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And never brought to mind? Why is this song sung on New Year's Eve?
64. Oinker's pen: STY.
Down:
1. Steers and rams: HEs. Male cattle and sheep.
2. Cry of disgust: UGH!
3. Working hard on: TOILING AT.
4. Morse Code components: DOTS. and Dashes.
5. All one has to do, sometimes: ASK.
6. "Rumor has it ... ": I HEARD ...
7. Be friendly, in a way: SAY, "HI."
8. Narc's org.: DEA. DEA = Drug Enforcement Administration.
9. Plus: AND.
10. Wall-mounted light: SCONCE.
11. Prepared in accordance with Muslim law: HALAL.
12. College sports channel: ESPNU.
13. Post-injury regimen: REHAB.
18. Had a memory lapse: FORGOT.
22. Supplement: ADD TO.
24. __ ray: tropical swimmer: MANTA.
25. Most well-to-do: BEST OFF. Richest also fits
into the spaces provided.
26. Difficult to understand: GARBLED.
27. Vegas natural: ELEVEN. Everything you wanted to know
about the Game of Craps.
28. Mrs. Addams, to Gomez: TISH. The Addams Family is a fictional cartoon family that was created by Charles Samuel Addams
(Jan. 7, 1912 ~ Sept. 29, 1988). He was known for his darkly humorous
and macabre characters, signing the cartoons as Chas Addams. The Addams
Family was a television show that ran for only 2 years in the mid-1960s.
It was also adapted into a 1991 movie. [Name # 8, fictional.]
29. Verdi opera with Desdemona and Iago: OTELLO. Giuseppe
Fortunino Francesco Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813 ~ Jan. 27, 1910) was an Italian
composer best known for writing operas. Otello is one of his best known
operas. You can read a summary of the Opera here. [Name # 9, real, Names # 10 and 11, fictional.]
32. "A mouse!": EEK!
33. Asanas: YOGA POSES.
34. Mixed breeds: MUTTS.
35. Tennis legend Arthur: ASHE. Arthur Ashe (né Arthur
Robert Ashe, Jr.; July 10, 1943 ~ Feb. 6, 1993) makes frequent appearances in
the puzzles. [Name # 12, real person.]
37. Composer Carmichael: HOAGY. Did you know that in
addition to being a composer and musician, Hoagy Carmichael (né Hoagland Howard Carmichael; Nov. 22, 1899 ~ Dec. 27, 1981) briefly
practiced law. [Name # 13, real person.]
38. Joyous way to break out: IN SONG.
42. Cling (to): ADHERE.
43. __ but surely: SLOWLY.
44. Speed deterrents: BUMPS.
45. Give __: care: A HOOT.
46. Polite denial: NO, SIR.
47. Fertile desert spots: OASES.
51. "The Accidental Tourist" novelist Tyler: ANNE. Anne
Tyler (b. Oct. 25, 1941) is a prolific writer. She has published 24
novels and is best known for The Accidental Tourist and Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, both of which were
adapted into movie versions. [Name # 14, real person.]
53. Some "Rocky" dialogue: YOs. [Name # 15, fictional.]
54. GPS lines: STS. As in Streets.
56. Actor McKellen: IAN. That's Sir Ian McKellen (né Ian
Murray McKellen; b. May 25, 1939), to you. He performs on the state and
in movies. [Name # 15, real person.]
57. "Mangia!": EAT. Today's Italian lesson.
58. Give it a go: TRY.
Here's the Grid:
חתולה
