1. core, albacore
2. OURS
3. replete, oro y plata
4. cherry; her, cry; cherry, cheery; cherry, wherry
5. charade; char, ade
6. practice kick, cactus prick
7. templing (little pig, little pig, let me in)
8. thenceforth enforce
9. Glau, glaucoma
10. eggs, goo-goo eyes
11. xi, (xi reversed - nom 'isk')
12. OURS
13. bunkmate, monk bait
14. OURS
15. bowlight, lowlight
16. nomen, gnomon
17. ibis, ibis
18. moi, mwah
KU-1. kudos (KU dos)
19. incandescent; Incan, descent
20. OURS
21. malefice; alef, mice
22. dearth, Earth Day
KU-2.
23. OURS
24. OURS
25. F(iji)an
26. ani nest, went yon, elsewhere (a nine's twenty one L sew here)
27. bedouin tent (bed OU in ten, T)
28. OURS
29. plates. petals, pastel, staple
30. plainest, paintless, Palestine, penitentials, Sleepless in Seattle
31. nuts, sustenance
32. sixteenth note; Sith? Not! Ex-teen
33. s(event)een
34. cele(b)rity; celerity; it, celery
35. seat belt, Seattle
36. glaives, villageless, Viva Las Vegas
37. tercentenaries, nectarine trees
38. light-years, Earth Girls Are Easy
39. overawed (over a W, ed)
KU-3.
40. musicotherapies (a mu [sic]. Other pies)
41. wayward, dry
42. OURS
43. Pictures at an Exhibition
44. OURS
45. Kevin Martin
46. Mike Robertson
47. Cheryl Bernard
48. Clara Hughes
49. Kristina Groves
50. Shannon Szabados
51. Jon Montgomery
52. Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir
53. Ashleigh McIvor
54. Charles Hamelin
F-1. S
B U G
AP RI LF OO LS
V E T A N D A
F-2. LF
LTLT
LTTLNS
LTTLMGZN
LTTLGSLNGW
LTTLRDRDNGHD
F-3. OURS
X-1. If you are losing your leisure, look out; you may be losing your soul. Logan Pearsall Smith
X-2. It is all right to hold a conversation but you should let go of it now and then. Richard Armour
X-3. Store sign: "Big sale next week!" Why are they telling me this? I already missed it. Y. Smirnoff
X-4. J. Paul Getty said that his personal formula for success was to rise early, work hard, and strike oil.
X-5. I used to work in a fire hydrant factory. You couldn't park anywhere near the place. Steven Wright
X-6. The true adventurer goes forth aimless and uncalculating to meet and greet unknown fate. O. Henry
X-7. Fremont has a bronze sculpture of Lenin, a retired Cold War rocket, and a troll.
X-8. Some friends are like a sundial: useless when the sun sets. Judah Jeiteles
X-9. "Indian Summer": the year's last, loveliest smile. John Howard Bryant
X-10. You can learn little from victory. You can learn everything from defeat. Christy Mathewson
X-11. All we actually have is our body and its muscles that allow us to be under our own power. Allegra Kent
X-12. Just the knowledge that a good book is awaiting one at the end of a long day makes that day happier. Kathleen Norris
X-13. A work of art which did not begin in emotion is not art. Paul Cezanne
X-14. A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out. Walter Winchell
X-15. Next to ingratutude the most painful thing to bear is gratitude. Henry Ward Beecher
X-16. PLAICESHAPES
LSLRAPPARENT
APPALLEDCLOA
NUANCEWPALLY
ERCPILEANEST
TRAITORPETAL
CYCLEPRALINE
ASHAMEDLYDGA
PLUSHLCARESS
EOPTEVACUATE
APPETITEMTSL
LEARNSASPENS
The title PLAIN refers to P, L and A being put INto the (clued wordplay) to get to the clued definitions.
ACROSS DOWN
1. PLAICE (ice) 1. PLANET (net)
5. SHAPES (she's) 2. ALPACA (c)
11. APPARENT (rent) 3. IRAN (irn)
12. APPALLED (ed.) 4. CALCITE (ccite)
13. NUANCE (nunce) 5. SPEWER (sewer)
14. PALLY (Y) 6. ARCANELY (rcney)
16. LEANEST (e-nest) 7. PELLET (eet)
17. TRAITOR (tritor) 8. ENOLS (enos)
18. PETAL (ET) 9. STAY (sty)
20. CYCLE (cyce) 10. SPURRY (surry)
22. PRALINE (rine) 15. PILASTER (ister)
25. ASHAMED (shmed) 18. PALACES (ces)
27. PLUSH (ush) 19. ANGSTS (ngsts)
28. CARESS (cress) 21. CHUPPA (chu)
30. EVACUATE (evcute) 22. PELVIS (evis)
31. APPETITE (etite) 23. IDEATE (idete)
32. LEARNS (erns) 24. EASELS (eses)
33. ASPENS (sens) 26. SLOPE (soe)
27. PEAL (e)
29. RUMP (rum)
X-17. O P G A A I A A
PALEONTOLOGISTS
E E M O M U S T
DRAGOON ANALYZE
O R A N N R R
GUERRILLA ALIBI
G A C A S
CHEKHOV SPUTNIK
A X I N N
MIENS CATACOMBS
P M P T I L O
SOPRANO PRETEXT
I L R R P S X A
TRANSLITERATION
E R E A R M T G
C-1. He: "I am wearing my new expensive hearing aid; it is state-of-the-art." She: "Really? What kind is it?" He: "Twelve-thirty."
C-2. According to the Yiddish proverb, when you have money, you are wise and handsome, and you also sing well.
C-3. Recent tremors shifted Earth's rotational axis - interesting, aside from lacking consequence.
C-4. Ukrainian Easter eggs called pysanky are decorated with painstaking wax-resist dyeing method.
C-5. Revamped highway signs use ornate lettering. Ticketed drivers neglected to read fine print.
C-6. Ecru boucle knit robe had pricey tag. Naive buyer shrieks when garment unravels during debut.
C-7. Multiple ciphers from one author, puzzles doubling as pleas surely signal dire back-page paucity.