Washington city in apple-growing country / TUE 8-6-13 / First lady between Bess Jackie / British royal name since 1917 / Woman's sleeveless undergarment informally / Rodeo wrestling target

Constructor: Lynn Lempel

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium



THEME: Stealing...— familiar phrases clued as if they referred to thievery; all clues start [Make off with some ...]:


Theme answers:

• 17A: Make off with some raffle tickets? (TAKE CHANCES)
• 23A: Make off with some kitchenware? (POCKET KNIVES)
• 39A: Make off with some vehicles? (COP CARS)
• 50A: Make off with some cash? (PINCH PENNIES)
• 60A: Make off with some gym equipment? (LIFT WEIGHTS)

Word of the Day: YAKIMA (46A: Washington city in apple-growing country) —

Yakima (/ˈjækɨmɔː/ or /ˈjækɨmə/) is a US city located about 60 miles southeast of Mount Rainier inWashington state. Yakima is the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, and the state's eighth largest city by population. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 91,067 and a metropolitan population of 243,231. The unincorporated suburban areas of West Valley and Terrace Heights are considered a part of greater Yakima.

Yakima is situated in the Yakima Valley, an area noted for apple, wine and hop production. The Yakima Valley produces 75% of all hops grown in the US. The name Yakima originates from the Yakama Nation, located south of the city. (wikipedia)

This was sort of cute. I like the reimagined clues better when the verb for "steal" is made out of an adjective (as with POCKET and COP) than when it's made out of a word that's already a verb (the rest of 'em), and I think the idea of CHANCES as something that someone might steal is pretty weak, but there's a playfulness about this Tuesday-worthy concept that I admire. Or maybe I shouldn't say "Tuesday-worthy," since that sounds backhanded (Tuesdays are often ... rough ... betwixt and between ... wobbly ... unlovable ... etc.). Anyway, I found this mostly enjoyable to solve. The fill is solid, with lots of interesting middle- and longer-range answers strewn about.


I had trouble getting started and didn't even pick up a theme answer until I had traveled all the way down the west side of the grid to PINCH PENNIES, but once I locked in on the theme, I Tore through this, making up for lost time and ending up with a faster- (but not much faster-) than-usual Tuesday time. Balked at CAMI, which is short for "camisole" and is a word I almost never hear (39D: Woman's sleeveless undergarment, informally). Also wanted 43D: Type who wears tight-fitting jeans and thick-rimmed glasses, maybe (HIPSTER) to be HEP- something (probably CAT) and so started second-guessing my spelling of YAKIMA. It's a very ecdysiastical poem, what with all the UNTIE-ing and UNZIP-ing and, well, ASS, I guess, if you want to be crude about it.

I think that'll do it. More tomorrow, I'm fairly certain.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld