Theme: First Pet. Each answer ends with the name of a Presidential Pet.
17A. Game played on a six-pointed star : CHINESE CHECKERS. Richard Nixon's dog (a cocker spaniel) while vice president, died before Nixon became president - made famous by the 'checkers speech.'
25A. 1964 Beatles hit : AND I LOVE HER. Him and Her, the most well known of the President Johnson's dogs, were registered beagles. Her died at the White House in November 1964 after she swallowed a stone.
37A. Trendy aerobics regimen : TAEBO. Barack and Michelle Obama promised their daughters, Malia and Sasha, that they would get a pet dog after they moved into the White House. Bo, a Portuguese water dog, was a gift from Senator Edward Kennedy.
44A. Diamond-patterned attire : ARGYLE SOCKS. President Clinton's cat Socks had the run of the White House, until Buddy the labrador retriever showed up in 1997. The two animals didn't get along, and had to be segregated.
57A. Companion at the end of 17-, 25-, 37- and 44-Across : PRESIDENTIAL PET
A fresh, fun theme, with very few pauses. Did not remember Him and Her, in the Johnson years, but knew all the others. Learned that presidential pets also included a pony (Caroline Kennedy's), birds, hamsters, rabbits, a raccoon, a squirrel, a cow, and a flock of sheep.
Across:
1. Classifies, in a way : PEGS. Did anyone else hear the theme song from Frasier?
5. Antony listener : ROMAN
10. Envelope abbr. : ATTN. Attention.
14. Beige-like shade : ECRU.
15. Representation : IMAGE
16. Dealer's dispenser : SHOE. Can hold multiple decks of cards.
20. Keystone lawman : KOP. Keystone Kops, featured in silent films about bumbling policemen.
21. Smart club : MENSA
22. Cry to strike up the band : HIT IT. But it made me think of this.
23. Penne relative : ZITI. Pasta is a lot like women .. so many shapes to appreciate.
24. She played WKRP's Jennifer : LONI. Anderson.
30. Time Warner "Superstation" : TBS
33. Capacious : ROOMY
34. Peddle : VEND
35. The tan in a Black and Tan : ALE
36. One of five states in which same-sex marriage is legal : IOWA
39. Fort with many bars : KNOX. The United States Bullion Depository in Fort Knox, Kentucky. Weight of a standard gold bar: approximately 400 ounces or 27.5 pounds.
40. Apparel retailer Taylor : ANN
41. Legatee : HEIR
42. In abeyance : ON ICE
43. La + la, in Lille : LES. Lille, France. La is French article "the" suggesting singular feminine form "her." Les is plural "the".
47. Volunteer st. : TENN. Tennessee is known as the "Volunteer State" for the large number of Tennesseans who volunteered for duty in the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War and the Civil War.
49. "Let's leave __ that" : IT AT
50. Producer Ponti : CARLO
52. "My Name Is Asher Lev" author Chaim : POTOK. Apparently a well-known book by American author and Rabbi, but i had no idea. Maybe a gimme for Lemonade and Hahtool?
54. Restorative place : SPA. Seems i get this a lot.
60. Jai __ : ALAI
61. Pentium producer : INTEL
62. Brand with a pony in its logo : POLO
63. A few : SOME
64. Seacoast : SHORE. For those of you that enjoy the musical links, a classic.
65. Stern's counterpart : STEM. From stem to stern.
Down:
1. Chaste kiss : PECK. Yawn.
2. Reverberate : ECHO
3. Stagehand : GRIP. Moves equipment and scenery.
4. Heliocentric universe center : SUN. The conclusion that the earth circles the sun, was reached and publicized by Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Newton, and Halley. This is the "heliocentric theory."
5. __ the occasion : RISE TO. See Dennis's last "did you know" yesterday for a perfect example.
6. 1991 movie sequel subtitled "The Awakening" : OMEN IV. Never saw any of them.
7. Apple products : MACS
8. Turkish honorific : AGHA
9. At birth : NEE
10. Be hospitable to : ASK IN
11. White Star Line's ill-fated steamer : THE TITANIC. April 14/15, 1912, 1,517 passengers perished after hitting an iceberg. The White Star Line's London offices, named Oceanic House, still exist today, and the White Star flag is raised on every 15 April, in memory of the Titanic disaster.
12. Actress Spelling : TORI
13. Place to brood : NEST. Cute.
18. Agent Prentiss on "Criminal Minds" : EMILY. Had to guess.
19. Bit of guitar music : CHORD
23. Coors malt beverage : ZIMA.
24. His show has a "Jaywalking" segment : LENO. Hard to watch.
25. Serif-free font : ARIAL
26. Nary a soul : NO ONE
27. How things flow : DOWNSTREAM. I think we've all had some experience with this.
28. Each partner : EVERY. "Each and every."
29. Right-to-left lang. : HEB. Hebrew is written from right to left. Arabic, Persian, and Yiddish also.
31. "Old" chip producer? : BLOCK. "A chip off the old block."
32. Proverbial battlers : SEXES
37. Gull relative : TERN
38. 2008 govt. bailout recipient : AIG. Oy.
39. Granny, for one : KNOT.
41. Red River capital : HANOI
42. Honshu metropolis : OSAKA
45. Roadside trash : LITTER. Despicable how common this is.
46. Twinkler in a Paris sky : ETOILE. French for star.
48. Borden's spokescow : ELSIE. I won't link the 'cows with guns' song. You're welcome.
50. Pros who work on schedules, for short : CPA'S. Certified public accountants.
51. He sang about Alice : ARLO. Guthrie.
52. Phnom __ : PENH. Largest, most populous, and capital city of Cambodia.
53. Suspicious of : ONTO
54. Catch a glimpse of : SPOT
55. Soccer great : PELE
56. Elemental unit : ATOM
58. Put down, slangily : DIS
59. 33 1/3 rpm spinners : LPS.
Answer grid.
Melissa
Note from C.C.:
Here are a few great pictures from JD & Dick's recent trip.
Answer grid.
Melissa
Note from C.C.:
Here are a few great pictures from JD & Dick's recent trip.
