Theme: Who Wears the Pants in the Family? Different kinds of pants are hidden in this puzzle's theme entries.
17A. *Neat, practical types, so it's said : CAPRICORNS. CAPRIS are pants named for the Isle of Capri in Italy. They were popularized by Grace Kelly, who often wore them while visiting the island.
58A. *Easter Bunny's delivery : JELLY BEANS. The now ubiquitous JEANS were originally the working man's pants, until they were popularized among teens in the '50s when James Dean sported them in "Rebel Without a Cause".
10D. *Ceremonial flag carriers : COLOR GUARDS. CORDS, or corduroy pants were never popularized. They do, however, have their own "Appreciation Day" on 1/11 and 11/11 each year. 11/11/11 was considered the holiest of corduroy appreciation days...
24D. *Arch supports, e.g. : SHOE INSERTS. SHORTS come in many styles, including cargo shorts, bermuda shorts, cut-offs and boxer shorts, among others. But I'll just link a picture that includes one popular style.
And the amusing unifier:
38A. Different kinds of them are split (but not in an embarrassing way) in the four starred answers : PANTS.
Marti here, happy to be blogging this delightful offering from John Lampkin. I like the fact that all four theme entries are plural. Having them in a pinwheel pattern adds to the visual effect of splitting, don't you think?
Across:
17A. *Neat, practical types, so it's said : CAPRICORNS. CAPRIS are pants named for the Isle of Capri in Italy. They were popularized by Grace Kelly, who often wore them while visiting the island.
58A. *Easter Bunny's delivery : JELLY BEANS. The now ubiquitous JEANS were originally the working man's pants, until they were popularized among teens in the '50s when James Dean sported them in "Rebel Without a Cause".
10D. *Ceremonial flag carriers : COLOR GUARDS. CORDS, or corduroy pants were never popularized. They do, however, have their own "Appreciation Day" on 1/11 and 11/11 each year. 11/11/11 was considered the holiest of corduroy appreciation days...
24D. *Arch supports, e.g. : SHOE INSERTS. SHORTS come in many styles, including cargo shorts, bermuda shorts, cut-offs and boxer shorts, among others. But I'll just link a picture that includes one popular style.
And the amusing unifier:
38A. Different kinds of them are split (but not in an embarrassing way) in the four starred answers : PANTS.
Marti here, happy to be blogging this delightful offering from John Lampkin. I like the fact that all four theme entries are plural. Having them in a pinwheel pattern adds to the visual effect of splitting, don't you think?
Across:
1. Popped (out) : FLIED. I was thinking "appeared", as out of nowhere. But of course, a baseball term referring to a high flying ball would throw me off!
6.Pet welfare org. : SPCA. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. My pets have them on speed dial, because they always feel like I am starving them to death...
10.Swear : CUSS. Anyone else have "avow"?
14.One drawing a bead : AIMER
15. Feeds, as cattle : HAYS. We had the discussion of straw Vs. hay yesterday. I will call on those same experts to let me know if this is the term commonly used when feeding cattle?
16.Kevin's "A Fish Called Wanda" role : OTTO. Kevin Kline. Funny movie.
19.Father of Cordelia : LEAR. The king. Shakespeare.
20.Slip : ERR
21.Swore : VOWED. Not enough letters for "cussed"...
22.Piano's opposite, in a score : FORTE. "Piano" meaning "soft", not to be confused with 25. Keys for a music room? : IVORIES.
23.Rhone feeder : ISERE. Seine, Loire, Saone...how many five letter rivers can you name?
27.Department store employees : CASHIERS
30.Dog days mo. : AUG
32.Is leery of : MISTRUSTS
37.Kin of -ess : ENNE
39.Make __ with: impress : A HIT
40.Radiation detection device : DOSIMETER
42.Inclined (to) : PRONE
43.Here-there link : NOR. Yes, but that's neither here nor there...
44.Invaded, with "on" : WAGED WAR
46.Epitome of thickness : PEA SOUP. No, the epitome of thickness is me at 11:00 at night, trying to figure out a crossword puzzle...
50.Clutch : GRASP
52.Man of many words : ROGET. Thesaurus man.
54.Le Mans law : LOI. Abejo, another French word for you to learn!
57.Kind of miss : NEAR.
61.Pulitzer-winning author James : AGEE. "A Death in the Family" (autobiography).
62.As if it were scripted : ON CUE
63.Mars, to the Greeks : ARES
64.Lout : BOOR
65.Ninnies : GEESE
Down:
1.Deal with : FACE
2.Whopper creator : LIAR. I was trying to think of the name of the Burger King owner. But Kramer and Burns wouldn't fit.
3.Puts away : IMPRISONS. I was still off on that Burger King tangent, and wanted "wolfs down".
4.It's always in Shakespeare : E'ER. Clever clue for the poetic "always".
5.Big screen locale : DRIVE-IN
6.Slip preventer : SHOWER MAT
8.Singer Lauper : CYNDI. I'll let her fan link a song.
9.Beast of burden : ASS
11.Wombs : UTERI
12.Country : STATE. "Sovereign state".
13.Abrasions : SORES
22.Final complement, perhaps : FOUR. ??As in, final four teams competing for the play-offs?? I had trouble with this clue. (From C.C.: NCAA's Final Four. Elite Eight. Sweet Sixteen.)
26.Relatives of drums : VATS. Lots of tricky clues today. In this case, "drums" refer to metal containers (like oil drums), not the things you play.
27.Emailed a dupe to : CC'ED. And a hat tip to our fearless leader.
28.Cartoonist Peter : ARNO. Now deceased, his political cartoons once appeared regularly in "The New Yorker".
29.Resilient strength : SINEW. Again, a tricky meaning for the word.
33.Poky follower : STRAGGLER. I was thinking "MON?", until I realized that poky was being used as an adjective here. Anyway, it's Pokémon, not Pokymon.
34.Hearst Castle, for one : SHOWPLACE. Has anyone else been there? No argument from me about it being a showplace!
35.Brown of publishing : TINA. I think she is still editor of "Newsweek" and "The Newsweek Daily Beast" (its joint venture)?
36.Dump closing? : STER. Dumpster.
38.Chincha Islands country : PERU. I tried to get you a map, but the islands are so small, even google maps can't see them...
41.Marshy wasteland : MOOR. Anyone else think of Heathcliff? And then there is the clecho with: 42.Marshy fuel source : PEAT BOG.
45.Neutral shade in London : GREY. As opposed to "gray" spelling, in New York.
46.Quixote's squire Sancho : PANZA
47.Arab chieftain : EMEER
48.Demean : ABASE
49.Barilla rival : PREGO. I use Barilla pasta, but always make my own sauce.
53.Butter alternative : OLEO.
55.Albatross : ONUS. Like an albatross around your neck...
56."Got it" : I SEE.
58.Punch that might make you reel : JAB. HaHa, I wanted to somehow fit "spiked eggnog" in there.
59.Yachtsman's course: Abbr. : ENE. Now I'm off to set my course for bed!
Answer grid.
Hugs,
Marti
Notes from C.C.:
1) Welcome back, Jeanie! I miss your presence and the warmth you always bring to the blog.
2) Here is a beautiful photo from John Lampkin, taken in October. He said "This is a cloud of Queen butterflies taken at Falcon Dam, near Roma Texas. A group of volunteers maintain a natural garden there packed with native butterfly-friendly plants. As a result, it's a mecca for butterflies and butterfly enthusiasts of which there are many. At times it's like walking through a fairyland."
Answer grid.
Hugs,
Marti
Notes from C.C.:
1) Welcome back, Jeanie! I miss your presence and the warmth you always bring to the blog.
2) Here is a beautiful photo from John Lampkin, taken in October. He said "This is a cloud of Queen butterflies taken at Falcon Dam, near Roma Texas. A group of volunteers maintain a natural garden there packed with native butterfly-friendly plants. As a result, it's a mecca for butterflies and butterfly enthusiasts of which there are many. At times it's like walking through a fairyland."