Eek, a Mouse!!

Two days until Spring. It sure doesn't feel like it. 

Today's puzzle (by Billie Truitt) is not one of my favorites since it's all about those nasty little creatures used in common sayings. Rodents are the mammals of an order called Rodentia, and 40% of mammals are rodents. That's an alarming number! Anyway, here are the theme answers:

20A: Hopelessly cornered (TRAPPED LIKE A RAT). I encounter enough rats on the NYC subway, thank you very much. Thank G-d I have never seen any in my apartment. There are two species of rats in NYC, the black rat and the brown rat. Both are equally ugly. They also outnumber the 8.3 million people who live here. For this blog post, I will think about cartoon rodents. I liked Templeton, the rat in Charlotte's Web. He was voiced by Paul Lynde in the original movie. Templeton is the ultimate symbol of gluttony and selfishness (he only helps Charlotte and Wilbur when offered food), but he provides comic relief. Below is the classic scene where Templeton goes scrounging for food at the fair.

40A: Toil ceaselessly (WORK LIKE A BEAVER). Beavers are actually kind of cute and they are useful by building dams, canals, and bridges. The beaver is also the symbol of New York State (yay!).  I mentioned "The Angry Beavers" cartoon and the Barry White episode a long time ago. In the movie "Grease," the old Ipana  toothpaste commercial featuring Bucky Beaver is shown. Isn't he adorable?

I'm sure you many of you also know this bit of trivia, but Wally Cleaver called his brother "Beaver" when because he couldn't pronounce "Theodore." Unfortunately, the nickname stuck all throughout poor Beaver's adulthood.

57A: Silent and unobtrusive (AS QUIET AS A MOUSE). There have been many cartoon mice, but you all know who is the most famous pair of all. I don't even have to mention them by name. Other cartoon mice include :Jerry (of Tom and Jerry), Speedy Gonzales, Minute Mouse (from "Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse"), Mighty Mouse, and Chuck E. Cheese (a mascot for gross pizza).



And here is Andy Kaufman from the very first SNL, "singing" to the Mighty Mouse theme song. Hilarious!

Only one instance of alphabet soup today:

33D: Missing GI's offense (AWOL)

Enough about rodents. Let's move on to the cryptoquote. I had a tough time with this one today. I thought the letter "X" stood for "E," until I saw that the second word was "imagination." Today's quote is by Clara Schumann (1819-1896):

Clara Schumann

My imagination can picture no fairer happiness than to continue living for art.

Clara Schumann (nee Wieck) was a child prodigy who was forced to practice music for three hours a day. She performed her first concert when she was just eight years old. She married the composer Robert Schumann, who wrote compositions exclusively for the piano. Clara supported the family by teaching and performing in concerts, but she was a composer as well. She also raised a large family but her family life was marred by many tragedies: four of her eight children died before her, and her husband ended his life in an insane asylum.

Finally, on to the JUMBLE, which was very easy today. The picture is of a boy finishing a report, and his mother is surprised that he finished so quickly. "To print out the page with the Boeing 747 on it, he used ______."

Word list:

TIRLF = FLIRT
SUSIE = ISSUE
KACTJE = JACKET
DONLEO = NOODLE

Scrambled Answer: TIJJKNE
Solution: INK JET

Speaking of jets, the cast photos for the upcoming season of "Mad Men" are out. Airports will be very much a part of this season, I think, SC&P setting up shop in LA. It looks like Don Draper has bounced back from his "suspension." Can't wait until April 13!

Time to end my break. Till tomorrow. . . .

Signing off,
The Puzzlechick