Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Puzzle by Peter A. Collins, edited by Will Shortz
THERATPACK (56A. Group with members hidden in 17-, 24- and 46-Across) along with PAIDAVISIT (17A. Stopped by), SMARTINVESTOR (24A. Market-savvy sort) and PUTSINATRANCE (46A. Hypnotizes) are this Wednesday’s interrelated entries. There are various explanations of the origin of the name Rat Pack, one of which is that it may refer to the belief that an established pack of rats will belligerently reject an outsider who tries to join them -- sounds familiar…
The original Rat Pack included Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, along with Judy Garland, Errol Flynn, Mickey Rooney, Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant and the young Frank Sinatra -- read more HERE. Then, of course, there’s The Brat Pack, no connection, known to mall rats pouring through supermarket publications.
Other people in the puzzle include ALI; AMY; ANG; ARABS; ARLO; BEN; DRS; Lamont CRANSTON, a k a The Shadow; ELO; MARY (25D. Miraculous Medal figure); MOIRA; OPAL; TALESE and WILDE.
A few more links:
CANA (45D. Biblical wedding site); GREATSEAL (11D. Something the U.S. government keeps an eye on); COBRA (1A. Enemy of a mongoose); ONES (63A. Vending machine input).That’s it for the outsiders’ look at the inside jokers ---
THE RAT PACK!-----------------
For today’s cartoon, go to
The Crossword Puzzle Illustrated.For the complete post, go HERE.
