Common fabric patterns are combined with common objects to form new items. Hilarity ensues.
17. Digging tool with an abstract pattern? : HOUNDSTOOTH PICK. Houndstooth / Toothpick. I can order my very own customized cake PICK from Zazzle.com.
45. Fish with a linear pattern? : PINSTRIPED BASS. Pinstriped / Striped bass. How about this pinstriped bass?
59. Volume with a plaid pattern? : MADRAS CHECK BOOK. I couldn't find a BOOK with a MADRAS CHECK cover. But Coach makes a MADRAS CHECK CHECKBOOK for only $50.
This seemed awfully easy for a Thursday, with only one snag for me. I guess the low word count and tricky theme pushes it to late week status. How did it treat you?
Across
1. Help with a heist : ABET.
5. Senate __ : RACE. Hands up for wanting "seat"? (Which led to my boo-boo, erasure, and an extra 15 seconds at 8-Down.)
9. Rascal : SCAMP.
14. First name in fashion : COCO. Immediately followed by a clecho at 15-Across. First name in fashion : OLEG. Needed a couple perps to sort them out.
16. Transmission repair franchise : AAMCO.
20. Wrecks : TRASHES.
21. How a scolding may be given : IRATELY.
22. First and last words of "Green Eggs And Ham" : I AM. Sam...Sam I am.
23. Winter Palace resident : TSAR.
31. Champagne label word : SEC. SEC means "dry" in French. On non-sparkling wines, that indicates just what it implies: they are "dry" and not sweet. But champagne bottles labeled SEC are much sweeter than "Brut" champagnes. Go figure.
32. Olympic hawk : ARES.
33. Reunion attendee : NIECE.
34. 3-Down is in it : OPEC. And 3-Down. Besides Chile, the only S.A. country that doesn't border Brazil : ECUA.dor
36. Arafat of the PLO : YASIR.
39. Broadway feature : NEON.
40. Carne __ : ASADA. "Grilled meat" in Spanish.
42. Pupil's place : UVEA. Not desk, haha!
44. Letters from your parents? : DNA. Good one.
49. Snaps : PICS. Here's a couple PICS of our new deck.
This is the water feature in our moss garden:
We have to wait a few months before staining it, right, Splynter?
50. Much : FAR. "It is a far, far better thing that I do..."
51. College milieu : ACADEME. Pronounced AK-uh-deem.
55. Ghoulish : MACABRE. Nice fill.
61. Son of Abraham : ISAAC.
62. Top : ACME.
63. Run without moving : IDLE.
64. "Married to the Mob" director : DEMME. My one entry that relied totally on perps. He also directed "Silence of the Lambs."
65. Appealed : PLED.
66. Some votes : AYES.
Down
1. Twice vier : ACHT. German "four" and "eight."
2. Lout : BOOR.
4. Neck tissue : TONSIL.
5. Italian cuisine herb : ROSEMARY. This year I expanded my herb garden to include sage and basil, along with rosemary, thyme, chives, dill, cilantro, parsley, tarragon and oregano.
6. Cockpit figs. : ALTS. ALTitudes.
7. Satya Nadella of Microsoft, e.g. : CEO. This guy.
8. Self-seeker : EGOIST. I thought "taoist" at first!
9. Like nearly one-third of Africa : SAHARAN.
10. Kirk or Picard: Abbr. : CAPT.ain
11. Brest friend : AMIE. HarHar. I guess clueing it as "Brest" indicates that we are looking for the feminine noun?
12. Year in which Frederick II died : MCCL. Sure, I knew that...
13. Snail-paced : POKY.
18. Bangladesh capital : DHAKA.
19. Streetcar relative : TRAM.
23. Hard-to-call contests : TOSSUPS.
24. It was originally named Brad's Drink : PEPSI.
25. Indian __ : OCEAN.
26. Bust gp. : DEA. Drug Enforcement Agency.
27. Bronze component : TIN.beni?
28. Orchestra section : REEDS.
29. Madonna and Lady Gaga : ICONS.
30. Gabrielle's friend : XENA. From the series "Xena: Warrier Princess." I always wanted to write a song about her: "I'll be XENA in all the old familiar places..."
31. Hotel freebie : SOAP. If they didn't have such strong fragrances, I might be tempted to take some home!
35. Collection to burn : CDs.
37. "Now __ seen everything!" : I'VE.
38. Embarrassed : REDFACED. (Oops! I saw too much!)
41. Tranquil : AT PEACE.
43. One way to be taken : ABACK.
46. What some eyeglasses lack : RIMS.
47. Polar concern : ICE CAP.
48. Oil-rich peninsula : ARABIA.
51. Within : AMID.
52. One taken to court : CASE.
53. Leading man? : ADAM.
54. Eighth of a fluid ounce : DRAM.
55. Fast-spreading Internet phenomenon : MEME. This has to be one of my favorites.
56. Murder mystery staple : BODY.
57. Something to cast : ROLE.
58. Laboriously earns, with "out" : EKES.
60. Stomach acid, to a chemist : HCL. Hydrochloric acid.
Marti, out!
