Cheaper by the Dozen
Constructor Jeff Stillman is back with a puzzle that is so holy that I fear it might violate the Corner prohibition on religion. But in this case most people are indeed quite religious about the subject of today's theme, so I don't think we'll have any problem with the censors (although AnonymousDNLC may have a fit 😁). Here are the theme clues ...
18A. Propaganda technique that attempts to appeal to average Joes: PLAIN FOLKS.
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| American Gothic Grant Wood |
26A. Accessory for early U.S. presidents: POWDERED WIG.
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| George Washington |
44A. Candy-coated caramels in a yellow package: SUGAR BABIES.
59A. Like the eyes of a person who hasn't gotten enough sleep: GLAZED OVER.
And what do they have in common ...
52D. Treat whose varieties appear at the starts of four long answers and are represented a dozen times in this puzzle: DONUT.
And these varieties are ...
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| PLAIN |
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| POWDERED |
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| SUGAR |
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| GLAZED |
And in case you didn't notice all the donut holes, here's the grid ...
My only complaint about this puzzle is that Jeff didn't include my favorite: French Crullers. For those of you who agree, here's a recipe.
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| French Crullers |
Across:
1. Green shade: JADE.
5. Pub offerings: PINTS.
10. Vellani who plays Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel: IMAN. IMAN Vellani (born 3 September, 2002) is a Canadian actress and comic book writer. Born in Karachi, Pakistan, Vellani moved to Canada when she was a year old, and was raised as a Shia Ismaili Muslim. Before being cast in Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel at the end of her last year of high school, Vellani had planned to attend the Ontario College of Art & Design University. Here's the season 1 trailer ....
14. European auto: OPEL. OPEL Automobile GmbH is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Group, a predecessor of Stellantis, from 2017 until 2021.
15. Missouri feeder: OSAGE. OSAGE is also the name of an indigenous people who lived in the region of the river tributaries and are still active today.
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| Osage River Basin |
16. On guard: WARY. The poster child for the adverb WARY is of course the Geococcyx Californianus ...
17. Curly cabbage: KALE.
18. [Theme clue]
20. Vaping device: ECIG.
21. Family room: DEN.
22. Gary of "13 Reasons Why": SINISE. 13 Reasons Why is an American teen television series, which revolves around high school student Clay Jensen (Dylan Minnette) and his grief over the suicide of high school student Hannah Baker (Katherine Langford). Before her death, she leaves behind a box of cassette tapes in which she details the reasons why she chose to end her life as well as the people she believes are responsible for her death. Gary Sinise plays Clay Jensen's therapist.
23. "Who else would I be talking about?": YES YOU.
25. Malleable: SOFT. What are the most malleable metals?
26. [Theme clue]
32. "Check," in poker: NO BET. Sometimes, but not always.
36. Haywire: AWRY.
37. Chardonnay adjective: OAKY. There's good OAKY and there's bad OAKY.
38. Some "Downton Abbey" characters: EARLS. I've always been under the impression that Robert Crawley, the 7th Earl of Grantham was the only one. But this article, published on the eve of the final series, spills the tea that he may have had an illegitimate son, and (with tongue firmly in cheek) speculates on some alternative outcomes to the saga.
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| Downton Abbey Dramatis personae |
40. Compare: LIKEN. LIKEN sounds like LICHEN ...
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| Lichen |
41. Cuisine with green and red curry: THAI. THAI curries are dishes in Thai cuisine made from curry paste, coconut milk or water, meat, seafood, vegetables or fruit, and herbs. Curries in Thailand mainly differ from the curries in India in their use of ingredients such as herbs and aromatic leaves over a mix of spices. Here's a recipe for Thai red curry with vegetables ...
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| Thai red curry |
44. [Theme clue]
47. Western Asia native: KURD.
48. Engaged, as gears: MESHED.
53. Home for una familia: LA CASA. Today's Spanish lesson: "La CASA de C.C. es nuestra CASA."
56. Bass, for one: ALE.
58. Lawn mower brand: TORO. Also Japanese for "melting in the mouth". An Easter Egg for our theme? Or even better a type of toroid ...
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| Torus |
59. [Theme clue]
61. Volunteer's phrase: IM IN. I've got to stop saying that!
62. Chase and Citi rival, popularly: BOFA. I have BOFEM.
63. "Dallas" surname: EWING. J.R. EWING is the EARL of America's Downton Abbey. Here's the cast. Hand up if you can name them all, and bonus points if you can tell us Who shot J.R.? (I never actually saw the show, but I did hear that he was shot 😀).
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| Dallas Cast |
65. Adult-to-be: TEEN.
66. Candidate list: SLATE.
67. Dry run: TEST.
Down:
1. Lighthearted: JOKEY.
2. With speed: APACE.
3. Lunch spots: DELIS.
4. Poem of lament: ELEGY. One of the most famous is Walt Whitman's epic lament over the death of Abraham Lincoln, When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d
5. Hall and Oates, e.g.: POP DUO. Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, are an American POP ROCK DUO formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two write most of the songs they perform, separately or in collaboration. They achieved their greatest fame from the mid-1970s to the late 1980s with a fusion of rock and roll, soul music, and rhythm and blues. The one I'm most familiar with is She's Gone from 1973 ...
6. Tropical getaway: ISLE.
7. Bread brushed with ghee: NAAN.
8. __ Fridays: TGI. "Thank God It's Friday!"
9. Like some overload: SENSORY.
10. "You can't make me!": I WON'T DO IT. The final words of many martyrs, even to this day I'm afraid.
11. Mauritania neighbor: MALI. MALI, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. Its capital and largest city is Bamako. It has 13 official languages, of which Bambara is the most spoken one. Among the country's attractions is one of the largest adobe structures in the world, the Great Mosque of Djenné.
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| Republic of Mali |
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| Torah Ark Dohány Street Synagogue Budapest, Hungary |
19. Military flute: FIFE.
24. Chooses: OPTS.
25. Composer Prokofiev: SERGEI. SERGEI Prokofiev (27 April 1891 – 5 March 1953) is my favorite Russian composer. His compositions are quite diverse ranging from symphonic works, virtuosic piano pieces, chamber music, and ballets. Probably his most popular work is the story of Peter and the Wolf, a kind of young person's guide to the orchestra. Here the Philadelphia Orchestra is conducted by Eugene Ormandy with narration by David Bowie ...
27. Opening lines?: WANT AD. As in "We have an opening for a cruciverbalist".
28. Dorky sort: DWEEB.
29. Bring around: WAKE.
30. Swedish superstore with a yellow-and-blue logo: IKEA. Let's see: "four letter Swedish superstore?" A CSO to SwenglishMom.
31. Ibsen's "Peer __": GYNT. Playwright Henrik Ibsen (20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was born in Skien, Denmark (about 4 hours West of the Swedish border BTW). He was one of the founders of modernism in theatre; is often referred to as "the father of realism"; and was one of the most influential playwrights of his time. His major works include Peer Gynt, An Enemy of the People, A Doll's House, and Hedda Gabler. One of the people he influenced was composer Edvard Grieg, who wrote incidental music for Peer Gynt. Here is the In the Hall of the Mountain King from a suite of that music (you may recognize this as the tune played by Van Johnson in the 1957 film The Pied Piper of Hamlin) ...
32. Trawling equipment: NETS.
33. Ko'olau Mountains locale: OAHU. Koʻolau Range is a name given to the dormant fragmented remnant of the eastern or windward shield volcano of the Hawaiian island of OAHU. It was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1972.
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| Ko'olau Mountains |
35. "On the Waterfront" director: ELIA KAZAN. ELIA KAZAN, born Elias Kazantzoglou (Greek: Ηλίας Καζαντζόγλου); September 7, 1909 – September 28, 2003) was an American film and theatre director, producer, screenwriter and actor, described by The New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history". Here's a trailer from his star studded masterpiece ...
40. Cut with a light: LASE. Laser cutting is a technology that uses a laser to vaporize materials, resulting in a cut edge. While typically used for industrial manufacturing applications, it is now used by schools, small businesses, architecture, and hobbyists.
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| Diagram of a Laser Cutter |
45. Chicanery: RUSE.
46. Come forth: EMERGE.
49. Circus prop: STILT.
50. Bro: HOMIE.
51. Native New Yorkers: ERIES. The ERIES were Indigenous people historically living on the south shore of Lake Erie. An Iroquoian group, they lived in what is now western New York, northwestern Pennsylvania, and northern Ohio before 1658. Their nation was decimated in the mid-17th century by five years of prolonged warfare with the powerful neighboring Iroquois for helping the Huron in the Beaver Wars for control of the fur trade.
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| Erie Nation pre 1650 |
53. Pride Month initials: LGBT. Today's crosswordese. Pride Month is every JUNE ...
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| It's all ya need! |
54. Household succulent: ALOE.
55. Bistro: CAFE.
56. New Balance competitor: AVIA.
57. Fast time: LENT. Next year it begins on Ash Wednesday, Feb 14th and ends on Holy Thursday, Mar 28th. No chocolates on Valentine's Day! 😞
60. Midnight mouser: OWL.
Cheers,
Bill
And as always, thanks to Teri for proof reading and for her constructive criticism.
waseeley
