Category: Lynn K. Watson

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Constructed by: Lynn K. Watson & Will Nediger
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: Wardrobe Makeover

Themed answers each contain an anagram of a CLOTHING item hidden within, shown in circled letters:

• 65A Switching outfits, and what can be found in this puzzle’s circled letters : CHANGING CLOTHES

• 23A 1977 Top 10 hit for Styx : COME SAIL AWAY (changing “CAMISOLE”)
• 32A Problem-solve : TROUBLESHOOT (changing “BLOUSE”)
• 49A Instigators : PROVOCATEURS (changing “OVERCOAT”)
• 84A “Have our plans changed?” : ARE WE STILL ON? (changing “SWEATER”)
• 96A Act like a chicken? : CROSS THE ROAD (changing “SHORTS”)
• 112A Collectibles with baseball stars, e.g. : TRADING CARDS (changing “CARDIGAN”)

Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers

Bill’s time: 17m 58s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

20 Asimov classic : I, ROBOT

Science fiction author Isaac Asimov wrote a marvelous collection of short stories titled “I, Robot” that were first published together in 1950. In the stories, he makes repeated reference to the Three Laws of Robotics, which he introduced in the story “Runaround”, first published in 1942. The three laws are:

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

21 Catherine of “Schitt’s Creek” : O’HARA

Catherine O’Hara is an actress and comedian from Toronto, Ontario. One of O’Hara’s more famous film roles is Kevin’s mother in the Christmas classic “Home Alone”. She also plays a lead character (Moira) in the excellent sitcom “Schitt’s Creek” alongside Eugen Levy.

23 1977 Top 10 hit for Styx : COME SAIL AWAY (changing “CAMISOLE”)

A camisole (also “cami”) is a sleeveless undergarment worn by women that extends down to the waist. “Camisole” is a French word that we imported into English that ultimately derives from the Latin “camisia” meaning “shirt, nightgown”.

“Come Sail Away” was a hit for the Chicago band Styx. It was released in 1977, and peaked in the charts the following year. However, “Come Sail Away” is one of those songs that seems to maintain a level of popularity that persists over the decades.

26 Sixth sense letters : ESP

Extrasensory perception (ESP)

27 “Belfast” Oscar nominee Ciarán : HINDS

Ciarán Hinds is an actor from Belfast in Ireland. His most acclaimed performance might be the portrayal of the grandfather in Kenneth Branagh’s drama film “Belfast”.

30 Secrecy contract, for short : NDA

Non-disclosure agreement (NDA)

31 Impressionist Édouard : MANET

Édouard Manet was a French painter whose works are mainly classified as Realist and Impressionist. Manet was friends with Impressionists masters like Edgar Degas, Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir and greatly influenced the Impressionist movement. The list of Manet’s marvelous paintings includes “Le Déjeuner sur l’Herbe”, “Le Repose” and “A Bar at the Folies-Bergère”.

32 Problem-solve : TROUBLESHOOT (changing “BLOUSE”)

A blouse is a loose-fitting shirt, particularly one worn by women or children. The term “blouse” is French, and originally described a peasant’s smock.

39 Comics dog : ODIE

Odie is Garfield’s best friend, and is a slobbery beagle. Both are characters in Jim Davis’ comic strip named “Garfield”.

42 Topiary target : SHRUB

Topiary is the practice of training and clipping perennial plants into clearly defined shapes.

45 Root vegetable : TURNIP

The names of veggies cause me grief sometimes. What’s called a turnip here in the US, we call a swede back in Ireland. An Irishman’s turnip is a rutabaga over here. Thank goodness a potato is a potato, or I’d just give up altogether …

51 Tax agcy. : IRS

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was set up during the Civil War to raise money to cover war expenses. Prior to the introduction of income tax in 1862, the government was funded by levies on trade and property.

53 NYC home of 31-Across’s “Two Roses” : MOMA
[31A Impressionist Édouard : MANET]

“Two Roses on a Tablecloth” is an 1882-1883 oil painting by Édouard Manet. It can be viewed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

58 Industry giant : TITAN

The Titans were a group of twelve older deities in Greek mythology, the twelve children of the primordial Gaia and Uranus, Mother Earth and Father Sky. In the celebrated Battle of the Titans, they were overthrown by the Olympians, who were twelve younger gods. We use the term “titan” figuratively to describe a powerful person, someone with great influence.

60 “Blast from the past” hashtag : TBT

#TBT is a hashtag that stands for Throwback Thursday that is often used on Thursdays by social media users who post nostalgic images. If you miss Thursday, you can do the same thing on Flashback Friday, #fbf.

68 “Big Five” film festival held in Germany : BERLINALE

The Berlin International Film Festival (“Berlinale”) is one of the Big Three film festivals in Europe, alongside the Venice Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival. It is also one of the world’s Big Five, which also includes the Toronto Film Festival and the Sundance Film Festival. The Berlinale was first held in 1951, and the awards are known as the Silver Bears. The Golden Bear is awarded to the producers of that season’s best film.

71 Granola morsel : OAT

The names “Granola” and “Granula” were trademarked back in the late 1800s for whole-grain foods that were crumbled and baked until crisp. Granola was created in Dansville, New York in 1894.

72 Lip balm brand : EOS

eos Products is a company that was founded in 2006 in New York City. It sells beauty products such as lotions and creams, and is most famous for its lip balm. The initials “eos” stand for “Evolution of Smooth”.

73 “The Bachelorette” network : ABC

“The Bachelorette” is a reality television show about dating with the intent of marriage, and is a spin-off of “The Bachelor”. The marriage that resulted from the first season (2003) is still going strong, with the couple now parents.

79 Nobel-winning Swedish poet Tranströmer : TOMAS

Tomas Tranströmer was a poet from Stockholm in Sweden who won the Nobel Prize in Literature. He was a popular choice. He had been nominated for the award every year since 1993, before finally winning in 2011.

81 Sportswear brand founded in Italy : FILA

Fila was originally an Italian company, founded in 1911 and now based in South Korea. Fila was started in Piedmont by the Fila brothers, primarily to make underwear that they sold to people living in the Italian Alps. The company started to focus on sportswear in the seventies, using tennis-great Bjorn Borg as their major endorser.

84 “Have our plans changed?” : ARE WE STILL ON? (changing “SWEATER”)

“Jumper” is one of those terms that caused me no end of grief when I moved to the US. I think my wife-to-be was close to dumping me on one of our first dates when she heard me talking about jumpers that I wore all the time. Where I come from, a jumper is a sweater, and can be worn by males and females alike. The dress known as a jumper in the US, back in Ireland we’d call a pinafore or pinafore dress.

87 Purplish blue : INDIGO

The name of the color “indigo” ultimately comes from the Greek “indikon” meaning “blue dye from India”.

91 Big name in convertibles : CASTRO

The modern convertible couch, seating that converts into a bed, was invented by Italian immigrant Bernard Castro in the 1930s. He founded a chain of retail stores to sell his invention, calling it “Castro Convertibles”. Castro created other convertible furniture items, including the “Scotch n Sofa”, which converted from a sofa into a bar!

95 Build-A-Bear creation : TEDDY

Build-A-Bear Workshop is a retailer of stuffed animals, mainly teddy bears, that was founded in Saint Louis in 1997. The “gimmick” is that customers get to customize their stuffed animal during the purchasing process in the store.

96 Act like a chicken? : CROSS THE ROAD (changing “SHORTS”)

Here’s an old chestnut:

• Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side!

And, some cringe-worthy variations:

• Why did the dinosaur cross the road? Chickens didn’t exist yet.
• Why did the chicken cross the playground? To get to the other slide.
• Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the loser’s house … Knock, knock! Who’s there? The chicken!
• What do you call a chicken crossing the road? Poultry in motion.
• Why did the chicken cross the road? To knock-knock on the door, walk into the bar, and change the lightbulb.

104 Indiana NBA player : PACER

The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, who play in the NBA. The name was chosen when the team was formed in 1967. “Pacers” is a homage to harness racing pacers (famed in Indiana) and the pace car used in the Indianapolis 500.

106 Domino dot : PIP

A pip is a dot on a die or a domino, or a mark on a playing card.

112 Collectibles with baseball stars, e.g. : TRADING CARDS (changing “CARDIGAN”)

The article of clothing known as a cardigan is named after the British Army Major General James Brudenell, the 7th Earl of Cardigan. Apparently, the cardigan’s design is similar to the knitted wool waistcoat that was worn by officers during the Crimean War in which the Earl of Cardigan played a major role.

116 Places for Penguins and Ducks : ICE RINKS

The Penguins are a professional hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They have been around since 1967, and were one of the first expansion teams when the NHL grew from six to twelve teams. The expansion team were to play in Pittsburgh’s Civic Arena, a domed structure known locally as the Igloo. It was the “Igloo” name that inspired a fan to suggest the “Penguins” moniker, which won a contest to choose the name of the new franchise.

The Walt Disney Company founded the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim hockey team in 1993, with the franchise’s name being a nod to the 1992 Disney movie called “The Mighty Ducks”. The name was changed to the Anaheim Ducks when Disney sold the team before the 2006-2007 season.

118 Early Ford : MODEL A

The Ford Model A was the original car produced by the Ford Motor Company. The first production run lasted from 1903 to 1904, when it was replaced by the Model C. The name “Model A” was brought back in 1927 and used for the successor to the Model T.

119 Lacking intelligence, in British English : GORMLESS

“Gormless” is a lovely word used mainly in the UK that has a not-so-lovely meaning, i.e. “lacking sense, stupid”. The term has been around a long time, at least since the mid-18th century, and likely has Old Norse roots.

Down

1 Basmati __ : RICE

Basmati is a long grain rice that is commonly used in Indian and Pakistani cuisine. The name “basmati” comes from the Sanskrit word “vasmati” meaning “fragrant”. I am a big fan …

2 Mythical matchmaker : EROS

As always seems to be the case with Greek gods, Eros and Aphrodite have overlapping spheres of influence. Aphrodite was the goddess of love between a man and a woman, and Eros was the god who stirred the passions of the male. The Roman equivalent of Aphrodite was Venus, and the equivalent of Eros was Cupid.

3 Provide for free : COMP

To comp is to give for free, with “comp” coming from “complimentary”.

4 Purple yam : UBE

Ube is a species of yam that is purple in color. I’m a big fan of ube ice cream. Potato-flavored ice cream; what’s not to like?!

5 Rock, Paper, Scissors : ROSHAMBO

Rock-paper-scissors is a hand game played by two people, at least here in North America. Back in Ireland we called the game “scissors-paper-stone”, and another name encountered around the English-speaking world is “roshambo”. The game is often used as a way to choose between two options or two individuals.

6 OxiClean target : STAIN

OxiClean is a bleaching agent and cleaner that was famously marketed using infomercials that featured the late Billy Mays.

7 Shiny dental prosthesis : GOLD TOOTH

Back in the 16th century, prosthesis was the addition of a letter or a syllable to a word. In the early 1700s, “prosthesis” was used to describe the act of adding an artificial device to replace a defective or missing body part. By the early 1900s, the term was applied to the artificial body part itself.

8 Cries of epiphany : AHAS

An epiphany is an appearance or manifestation, especially of a supreme being. By extension, “epiphany” can also apply to a sudden insight or intuitive perception. The term derives from the Greek “epiphainein” meaning “to manifest, display”.

12 “Fleabag” star Waller-Bridge : PHOEBE

Phoebe Waller-Bridge is an actress, screenwriter and producer whose big break came with the comedy-drama show “Fleabag”, which she created and in which she starred. Another big hit came with the show “Killing Eve”, for which Waller-Bridge was head writer. She also co-wrote the screenplay for the 2021 James Bond movie “No Time to Die”. In 2023, she starred alongside Harrison Ford as the title character’s goddaughter in “Indian Jones and the Dial of Destiny”.

13 President after Jimmy : RONALD

Ronald Reagan started out his political career as a member of the Democratic Party, but switched to the Republicans in the early fifties. Reagan served as Governor of California for eight years, and vied unsuccessfully for the nomination for US President on two occasions. He finally succeeded in 1980 and defeated President Jimmy Carter to become the 40th US President in 1981.

29 Knitting stitch : PURL

As all of us knitters know, the purl stitch and knit stitch are very similar, one being sort of the inverse of the other. Yes, I’ve knitted a few sweaters in my day …

31 Violet kin : MAUVE

The name given to the light violet color that we know as “mauve” comes via French from the Latin “malva”. The Latin term translates as “mallow”, the common name of several species of plants, many of which have mauve-colored flowers.

32 Bay Area town whose name means “shark” in Spanish : TIBURON

Tiburon is a town located just north of San Francisco on a peninsula that juts into Sam Francisco Bay. The town’s name comes from, indirectly, Juan de Ayala, the Spanish naval officer who led the first European expedition into San Francisco Bay. He named the Tiburon Peninsula “Punta del Tiburón” (“Shark Point”), possibly because of the presence of sharks in the area.

34 Pro wrestling patriarch Hart : STU

Retired professional wrestler Bret Hart is the son of wrestler Stu Hart, who founded and handled the Calgarary-based promotion company Stampede Wrestling. Bret was known in the ring as “Hitman Hart”, which led to the name of the Calgary Hitmen junior hockey team.

35 Company boycotters? : HERMITS

The Greek word for “uninhabited” is “eremos”, which is the root for “eremia” meaning both “desert” and “solitude”. The Greek word eremites then means “a person of the desert”. This was absorbed into Latin as “ermita”, meaning someone who lived in solitude or in an uninhabited area. We use “eremite” to mean the same thing, although the derivative term “hermit” is more common.

36 Pet rescue org. : ASPCA

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)

40 More of a nerd : DWEEBIER

“Dweeb” is relatively recent American slang that came out of college life in the late sixties. Dweeb, squarepants, nerd; they’re all not-nice terms that mean the same thing, i.e. someone excessively studious and socially inept.

44 Acid rock’s acid : LSD

The musical genre known as acid rock is a subset of psychedelic rock. The term comes from the influence of the drug LSD (acid) on some compositions in the early days.

47 Islamic leader : IMAM

An imam is a Muslim leader, and often the person in charge of a mosque and/or perhaps a Muslim community.

50 Caribbean native : CUBAN

Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean. The exact etymology of the name “Cuba” seems a little unclear. Most believe “Cuba” to be derived from the Taíno terms for “where fertile land is abundant” (cubao) or “great place” (coabana).

57 Crudely built places? : OIL TOWNS

Crude oil is a naturally occurring liquid mixture of hydrocarbons that is found in geological formations. Also known as “petroleum”, crude is usually accessed by drilling. Once collected, it is refined and separated into many, many chemicals, e.g. gasoline and asphalt as well chemicals used to make plastics, fertilizers and pharmaceuticals.

60 Svelte : THIN

“Svelte” comes into English from Latin, via the Italian “svelto” meaning “stretched out”. Something or someone described as svelte would be slender and graceful.

68 Italian port on the Adriatic : BARI

Bari is a major port city on the Adriatic coast of Italy. It has the unfortunate distinction of being the only city in Europe to experience chemical warfare during WWII. Allied stores of mustard gas were released during a German bombing raid on Bari in 1943. Fatalities caused by the chemical agent were reported as 69, although other reports list the number as maybe a thousand military personnel and a thousand civilians.

69 Pulitzer-winning novelist Jennifer : EGAN

Jennifer Egan is an author who grew up in San Francisco. Egan’s 2010 work “A Visit from the Goon Squad” won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Usually termed a novel, “A Visit from the Goon Squad” is structured in such a way that it is sometimes described as a collection of linked short stories.

78 Actress Dennings : KAT

Kat Dennings is the stage name of actress Katherine Litwack, who is noted today for her co-starring role on CBS’s sitcom “2 Broke Girls”. Dennings is an avid blogger, and you can check out her video blog on YouTube.

81 Ocean sheets : FLOES

An ice floe is a sheet of ice that has separated from an ice field and is floating freely on the surface of the ocean.

85 “Not That Fancy” singer McEntire : REBA

Reba McEntire is a country music singer and television actress. McEntire starred in her own sitcom “Reba” that aired on the WB and the CW cable channels from 2001 to 2007. She is sometimes referred to as “The Queen of Country”.

88 Argon or xenon : GAS

The nonreactive noble gas argon is mainly used as an inert shielding gas in welding. A shielding gas protects the area being welded from oxygen and water vapor, both of which can make welding more difficult and reduce the quality of the weld.

Metal halide lamps that are called xenons don’t actually rely on the incorporated xenon gas to generate light. The xenon gas is added so that the lamp comes on “instantly”. Without the xenon, the lamp would start up rather like an older streetlamp, flickering and sputtering for a while before staying alight.

96 Bond player Daniel : CRAIG

English actor Daniel Craig rocketed to fame in 2005 when he was chosen to replace Pierce Brosnan as James Bond in the series of films based on Ian Fleming’s character. One of Craig’s most famous appearances as Bond was alongside Queen Elizabeth II in the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics. Craig married actress Rachel Weisz in 2011.

97 Cookbook author DiSpirito : ROCCO

Rocco DiSpirito is a celebrity chef from New York City. He was a contestant on “Dancing with the Stars” in 2008, and did quite well in the competition.

98 Mudbank frolicker : OTTER

Male and female otters are known as dogs and bitches, with the offspring called pups. Males and females are sometimes referred to as boars and sows. A collection of otters is a bevy, family, lodge or perhaps a romp. When in water, a collection of otters can be called a raft.

99 Weed B-Gon maker : ORTHO

Bug B-Gon and Weed B-Gon are product lines sold under the Ortho brand name by Scotts Miracle-Gro.

102 Matter taken on faith : DOGMA

A dogma is a set of beliefs. The plural of “dogma” is “dogmata” (or “dogmas”, if you’re not a pedant like me!)

105 Actress Falco : EDIE

Actress Edie Falco won three Emmy Awards for playing Carmela Soprano on HBO’s outstanding drama series called “The Sopranos”. Falco also won an Emmy in 2010 for playing the title role in “Nurse Jackie”, an excellent black comedy.

108 Awareness-raising ads : PSAS

Public service announcement (PSA)

115 “__ Twist, Scientist”: animated series based on a bestselling picture book : ADA

“Ada Twist, Scientist’ is a children’s picture book by Andrea Beaty (illustrated by David Roberts) that was first published in 2016. An animated preschool TV series with the same name premiered in 2021.

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