A BUNCH OF BOXES, A COLLECTION OF CLUES

Greg Pliska

 

Each clue answer is also a collective noun for an animal group. Solvers might notice this on their own, or with the aid of the puzzle title, but the surest way to get to that step of the puzzle is to Google a number of the answer words. A number of useful websites will appear.

 

The animal plurals – which are almost exclusively the first options given in 11C – are entered into the diagram criss-cross style. While a number of seven-letter animal plurals could go into the central bold-bordered boxes, all the answers will fit uniquely into the grid and leave that box empty. When the grid is completely filled in the grey boxes spell, from top to bottom, left to right:

 

FORTY-TWO GALLONS OF CRUDE

 

This is one of the 11C definitions of “barrel”, and is also the collective noun for monkeys, which fits into the final unfilled grid space.

 

MONKEYS is the answer to this puzzle.

 

Clue answers (organized, as in the puzzle, by length of animal group):

 

ANIMALS

GROUP

CLUE

 

 

 

elk

gang

China's "___ of Four" (4)

 

 

 

apes

shrewdness

Clever discernment or hardheaded acumen (10)

mice

mischief

1985 Doug McKeon movie (8)

owls

stare

To look fixedly at, as if in a schoolyard contest (5)

 

 

 

bears

sleuth

1972 Olivier-Caine movie (6)

bison

thunder

It follows lightning (7)

boars

singular

Opposite of plural (8)

clams

flaccidity

Detumescence (10)

crows

murder

Homicide (6)

doves

dole

Clinton's opponent in '96 (4)

flies

business

Sloan School subject (8)

foxes

skulk

To move in a stealthy or furtive manner; malinger (Brit. slang) (5)

geese

skein

A loosely coiled length of yarn (5)

hawks

kettle

Water-boiling vessel that whistles (6)

larks

exultation

"Sing, choirs of angels, sing in ____" (10)

lions

pride

"___ and Prejudice" (5)

moles

labour

Tony Blair's party (6)

rooks

clamour

"I never saw the heavens so dim by day. A savage ___!" (Shakespeare) (7)

seals

bob

Hope or Geldof (3)

sheep

hurtle

"Unknown spears suddenly ___ before my dream-awakened eyes" (Yeats) (6)

swans

whiteness

A characteristic of snow or rice (9)

wasps

pail

Container for Jack and Jill (4)

 

 

 

eagles

convocation

An assembly of bishops and representative clergy of the Church of England (11)

hyenas

cackle

To laugh harshly (like a witch, say) (6)

marten

richness

Abundance of wealth, as that which Teyve might wish for (8)

otters

romp

A one-sided victory; an episode of lovemaking (4)

plover

wing

Buck-and-___ (4)

ravens

unkindness

Cruelty (10)

sharks

shiver

"___ me timbers!" (6)

skunks

surfeit

"For as a ___ of the sweetest things / The deepest loathing to the stomach brings" (Shakespeare) (7)

snakes

pit

Location for traders, racecar drivers or musicians (3)

tapirs

candle

You get only one on your first birthday cake (6)

tigers

ambush

Attack by surprise (6)

whales

gam

Leg, in slang (3)

zebras

zeal

Fanatical, sometimes religious, devotion (4)

 

 

 

baboons

congress

The U.S. legislature (8)

badgers

cete

Sea monsters (Latin neut. pl.) (4)

beavers

lodge

American statesman Henry Cabot (5)

buffalo

obstinacy

Stubbornness (9)

choughs

clattering

Making a rattling sound (10)

ferrets

fastening

Tying, buttoning or nailing (9)

finches

charm

A fundamental quark that has an electric charge of + 2/3 and a measured
energy of approximately 1.5 GeV (5)

locusts

plague

"The ___ ", Camus novel (6)

magpies

tittering

"Walk sober off, before a sprightlier age comes ___ on…" (Pope) (9)

parrots

prattle

To make meaningless sounds suggestive of the chatter of children (7)

peafowl

ostentation

Excessive display or pretentiousness (11)

pigeons

kit

___ and caboodle (3)

toucans

Durante

Entertainer Jimmy "Schnozzola" (7)

turkeys

rafter

Roof beam (6)

turtles

turn

Word repeated in Byrds song title (4)

weasels

sneak

Quarterback ___ (football play) (5)

 

 

 

cheetahs

coalition

"____ of the willing" (9)

crickets

orchestra

They are led by a conductor (9)

giraffes

corps

Word with Marine or Peace (5)

leopards

leap

Behave like Lords, according to a Christmas song (4)

pheasant

bouquet

Floral arrangement; nosegay (7)

raccoons

mask

Catcher's headwear (4)

sparrows

ubiquity

Omnipresence (8)

thrushes

mutation

Process which creates X-Men, generally (8)

vultures

wake

Vigil held prior to burial (4)

 

 

 

elephants

parade

Macy's Thanksgiving event (6)

flamingos

flamboyance

Strikingly elaborate behavior (11)

hedgehogs

array

A number of mathematical elements arranged in rows and columns (5)

jellyfish

smack

Heroin, slangily (5)

squirrels

scurry

Hurry-___ (turmoil) (6)

starlings

murmuration

The utterance of low continuous sounds or complaining noises (11)

swordfish

flotilla

A navy organizational unit consisting of two or more squadrons of
small warships (8)

 

 

 

alligators

congregation

Priest's audience (12)

crocodiles

float

Entrant in Macy's Thanksgiving event (5)

orangutans

buffoonery

Foolish or playful behavior or practice (10)

polarbears

aurora

Roman goddess of dawn (6)

 

 

 

woodpeckers

descent

1995 computerized combat game featuring full 3D movement (7)

 

 

 

nightingales

watch

Dick Tracy's had a videophone (5)

 

 

 

hippopotamuses

bloat

To cause abdominal distension (in) (5)

 

 

 

 

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