Themed crossword – Jeff’s Puzzles

Words: 76

Average Length: 4.82

Difficulty: 2.5 out of 5

Here’s a gentle, Thanksgiving-themed puzzle. Best wishes for a scrumptious, safe, and stress-resistant holiday. Enjoy!

From the Nov. 20 Washington Post. I saw the final band in Junior High School. They played in the cafeteria. This has nothing to do with the puzzle, unless your Thanksgiving dinner turns dramatic.

Two solving notes: (1) the song at 9/25 Down is from the 1969 movie of the same name. The movie has aged poorly, but I still love the song – all 18 minutes of it.

(2) In researching a clue for 61 Across – I ended up going with the obvious – I came across some fascinating background: In 1939, Federated Department Stores (61A’s parent) prevailed on FDR to move Thanksgiving up a week so there’d be more time after the holiday for Christmas shopping. The Republicans objected (shocking!), and for a couple of years there was basically a Democratic Thanksgiving and a Republican Thanksgiving. In 1941 Congress passed a law fixing Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday in November.