W E D N E S D A Y November 3, 2010 Gareth Bain

Theme: Chicken — Theme answers are familiar phrases that begin with a word that can be an edible part of a chicken.


Theme answers:

• 17A: Commonly upholstered seat (WING CHAIR).
• 28A: Real scream (THIGH SLAPPER).
• 45A: Crawl alternative (BREAST STROKE).
• 62A: '80s fashion fad inspired by dance films (LEG WARMER).
• 40A: "Finger lickin' good" sloganeer, and a hint to this puzzle's theme (KFC).

So just this past weekend I happened to see a bag with the Colonel's picture on it, but it said KGC instead of KFC. I was all WTF? So just now I did a quick Google search, and all the results that came up were more than a year old. What did I miss?

Bullets:

• 20A: Some littermates (KITTIES). Tried KITTENS first and was mildly annoyed that there wasn't some kind of hint in the clue that we were looking for a diminutive, but now I realize that was pretty silly. In fact, I got over it as soon as I got to 29D: Call to 20-Across (HERE), cuz that's a really awesome cross-reference clue. "Here kitty, kitty, kitty …."
• 23A: Gary's st. (IND.).



• 48A: British philosopher who wrote "Language, Truth and Logic" (A.J. AYER). No idea.
• 51A: Enjoy the Appalachian Trail (HIKE). Heh.

• 55A: Like a persistent headache (NAGGING).
• 60A: O'Connor's successor (ALITO). When I see O'Connor in a clue, I always think it's referring to Cardinal John Joseph O'Connor, who was appointed Archbishop of New York in 1984. I lived in New York at that time, so I'm sure that's why it sticks with me.
• 11D: Like some pride (CIVIC). Hope you all had a jolt of that CIVIC pride yesterday when you voted. I know I did.
• 32D: Ripple near the nipple (PEC). I would prefer not to see nipples in my puzzle. That is all.
• 57D: Go-getter's response to "Do you know of such a person?" (I'M IT). Hmmm. Questionable.

• 63D: Stat for CC Sabathia (ERA). Or, to be a little more timely, Tim Lincecum.

Crosswordese 101: We talked about YGOR late last year. Today we'll cover the various IGORs-with-an-I you should know. IGOR is most often clued in relation to (1) "Prince IGOR," the opera by Alexander Borodin, (2) the composer IGOR Stravinsky, perhaps most famous for his 1910 ballet "The Firebird," or (3) Dr. Frankenstein's humpbacked lab assistant (a role played by Marty Feldman in the movie "Young Frankenstein"). Then there's today's 30D: Inventory Sikorsky. Typically, you'll see some reference to aviation in a clue for IGOR Sikorsky … but not today.

Other crosswordese in the puzzle that we've already covered:

• 39A: Wildly cheering (AROAR).
• 2D: Et __: and others (ALII).
• 7D: Actor Wallach (ELI).
• 40D: Korean automaker (KIA).
• 54D: Carrier to Tel Aviv (EL AL).

[Follow PuzzleGirl on Twitter.]

Everything Else — 1A: Hippocratic oath no-no (HARM); 5A: Astounds (AWES); 9A: Unspoken, but implied (TACIT); 14A: Pints at the bar (ALES); 15A: TV part? (TELE); 16A: Like merinos (OVINE); 19A: Prolific psalmist (DAVID); 21A: "To continue ..." ("AND …"); 24A: Bakery array (PIES); 26A: Smart-__: cocksure and conceited (ALECKY); 33A: Rue (REGRET); 34A: Pint-size (WEE); 35A: Frenzied (AMOK); 41A: Honshu port (OSAKA); 42A: Balkan native (SERB); 43A: Nintendo game console (WII); 44A: We-alone link (ARE NOT); 52A: Prom rental (TUX); 53A: Maker of tiny combs (BEE); 64A: The QE2, e.g. (LINER); 65A: An acre's 43,560 square feet (AREA); 66A: Je t'__: Pierre's "I love you" (AIME); 67A: Canada's highest mountain (LOGAN); 68A: Tramp's love (LADY); 69A: Put in the overhead (STOW); 1D: Aggressive sort (HAWK); 3D: Monopoly payment (RENT); 4D: Bilko's mil. rank (MSGT); 5D: Believer's antithesis (ATHEIST); 6D: Otter's kin (WEASEL); 8D: Word repeated in a Doris Day song (SERA); 9D: More than crawl (TODDLE); 10D: Palindromic girl's name that ranked among the 10 most popular in each of the past five years (AVA); 12D: How contracts are usually signed (IN INK); 13D: Garment including a chemise (TEDDY); 18D: Written code (CIPHER); 22D: Golfer's sunburn spot (NAPE); 25D: Swimmer with a bladelike snout (SAWFISH); 27D: Pencil tip (ERASER); 28D: Refrain syllables (TRAS); 31D: Like takers (GRABBY); 36D: Hombre's hand (MANO); 37D: "I get it, I get it!" ("OK OK!"); 38D: British rock star Bush (KATE); 41D: Former Nicaraguan leader (ORTEGA); 43D: "The Way We __" (WERE); 44D: "Shoot" ("ASK AWAY"); 46D: With new life (REBORN); 47D: Lightly shaded (TINGED); 48D: To any extent (AT ALL); 49D: Crooner Iglesias (JULIO); 50D: Firing (AXING); 56D: Mardi __ (GRAS); 58D: Nautilus skipper (NEMO); 59D: Expanded (GREW); 61D: Texas __: oil (TEA).