" I Made You a Pair of Shorts" September 9, 2022

[lxpeterson]

We totally went with Chip S (Sullivan). Which fit the mechanism. So, he's hardly well-known, but still a cartoonist. And, it fits the model better. Ike plus A, etc. I did say to my husband, however, why can't it just be Charles Schultz? Feeling like Charlie Brown.

[mheberlingx100]

The last step from Chip S to Charles Schulz seemed a little iffy to me. I had to Google to get the Chip-Charles connection.

I also had a bit of discomfort around his middle initial which doesn’t fit with the theme. But he is known as Charles M. Schulz on the Peanuts website and that’s the name of his museum, so that’s how I submitted.

[pjc]

Got the nickname thing very quickly. Of course, that list of names just looked like a bunch of gibberish when trying to combine them. Put it aside for a little bit, then the "oh, I wonder if the list of clues has anything" idea hit me - and sure enough, the nicknames were all there starting clues with an extra letter hanging off the end.

OK - so now I have a useless list of extra letters (boy, that's a lot of A's). Put THAT aside for a while.

Come back to it and go look at the list of associated answers and came up with CHIPS. Did the Google thing, found the cartoonist Chip and didn't really buy it. Googled for Chip as a nickname, saw Charles - and that's when the bells went off.

That's when I posted my "I think I might have it, but I'm saying I'm still on the ship" message.

Again, put it aside. Came back and that's when I finally noticed that all of the extra letters were the initials of the last names - and thus, Charles S fit the pattern and declared myself on the ship.

That was quite a few 'put it aside' moments and 'coming back to it later' moments, but still good enough for page 2!

The construction was just marvelous on this - how it all just clicked together with the extra letters and the back-and-forth from grid to answers and back again; but I can understand the frustration at the fairly obscure 'Chip' as a nickname (and the possible alternate cartoonist answer).

Still don't understand the puzzle title, though. Is the pair of shorts the nicknames going one way and then the other?

Current winning streak at 4.

[KayW]

Like many others, I got to CHIPS quickly but had no idea what name Chip was short for. Late hubby was a Charles; he went by Chuck and a few people called him Charlie or Chaz. Never Chip. When interwebs told me CHIP was a nickname for Charles or Christopher, I immediately thought of Schulz. I hesitated because I knew his nickname was Sparky, but eventually reasoned that the metanism was POSSIBLE nicknames (did anyone ever call Asimov “Ike”?) and submitted.

And I caught that CHIP S. was a “pair of shorts” for Charles Schulz but didn’t notice that all the other themers were nickname + last initial until a more smarter Muggle mentioned it. Doh!

Well done, Matt G.

[MikeM000]

I hail Mary'ed Bill Watterson simply because I figured Schulz was too obvious as an answer. I never would have gotten this, even though one of the 2 odd clues I kept looking at was the Abel Tesfaye one (I figured he is too well known as "The Weeknd" and not well enough by his real name to be a crossword clue) but I was really obsessed with having a major filmmaker reduced to "Eclectic Ethan".

Agreed on the Chip = Junior thing (hello, Caray family), plus Schulz was known almost exclusively among friends as "Sparky".

[Bird Lives]

Wikipedia list of "Chip" as a nickname:

• Raymond Chip Ambres (born 1979), American baseball player

• Willis Chip Arndt (born 1966), American gay activist and reality show winner

<snip>

• Jerome Chip Zien (born 1947), American stage and television actor

This list is not close to exhaustive and is a small sample size, in fact, but 14 of 51 listed "Chips" have the given name "Charles" or more than 1 in 4."

Thanks to Chip Ross for compiling this list, but I would have said not "more than 1 in 4" but "less than 30%" or "The overwhelming majority of Chips are not Charles."

Also (showing my age here) the only Chip I've ever known is a fictional one, Chip Hilton, whose given name was William.

[Joe Ross]

We totally went with Chip S (Sullivan). Which fit the mechanism. So, he's hardly well-known, but still a cartoonist. And, it fits the model better. Ike plus A, etc. I did say to my husband, however, why can't it just be Charles Schultz? Feeling like Charlie Brown.

[Joe Ross]

Wikipedia list of "Chip" as a nickname:

• Raymond Chip Ambres (born 1979), American baseball player

• Willis Chip Arndt (born 1966), American gay activist and reality show winner

<snip>

• Jerome Chip Zien (born 1947), American stage and television actor

This list is not close to exhaustive and is a small sample size, in fact, but 14 of 51 listed "Chips" have the given name "Charles" or more than 1 in 4."

Thanks to Chip Ross for compiling this list, but I would have said not "more than 1 in 4" but "less than 30%" or "The overwhelming majority of Chips are not Charles."

Also (showing my age here) the only Chip I've ever known is a fictional one, Chip Hilton, whose given name was William.

I think that Chip Livingston is right! Mostly, I'm glad that our children were able to experience his authentic Manhattan gibberish!

[Dplass]

Ike for Isaac? I do not like that, Mike. I do not like it in a grid, I do not like it with a lid. I do not like Ike for Isaac Mike.

[Franklin.Bluth]

Like many others, I got to CHIPS quickly but had no idea what name Chip was short for. Late hubby was a Charles; he went by Chuck and a few people called him Charlie or Chaz. Never Chip. When interwebs told me CHIP was a nickname for Charles or Christopher, I immediately thought of Schulz. I hesitated because I knew his nickname was Sparky, but eventually reasoned that the metanism was POSSIBLE nicknames (did anyone ever call Asimov “Ike”?) and submitted.

I think you're right on. Nobody has ever called Anthony Anderson "Tony" to my knowledge. The point was common nicknames for a given name.

[femullen]

"I made you a pair of shorts" was supposed to make you think of shortened versions of the first names, then, is that right? Made me think of shortened trousers, which made me think of hemming, which made me think of Thomas Jefferson, which made me think of Thomas Nast, a noted cartoonist. Took me two seconds, and I didn't even need to solve the grid.

[Franklin.Bluth]

Ike for Isaac? I do not like that, Mike. I do not like it in a grid, I do not like it with a lid. I do not like Ike for Isaac Mike.

This is a Gaffney puzzle anyway...his answers are usually a bit looser.

[Ergcat]

Here’s my rabbit hole::
I sent in a Hail Mary of Stan Lee. I justified it by because of the clue “ site with pics, for SHORT”…. Then the 47a clue “_ flies( they get people home). Both are clues with “short” answers.. Then using 54 d, I made a “pair of shorts” ( a visual in lower right corner). Contained in the shorts are the letters for STAN Lee. Ha!
Early on I thought “Charles Schultz” just because of the title “ I made you a pair of Shorts” … Charlie Brown and his friends famously wore shorts! But I didn’t go with that!

[Dplass]

Ike for Isaac? I do not like that, Mike. I do not like it in a grid, I do not like it with a lid. I do not like Ike for Isaac Mike.

Screenshot_20220912-074848-354.png

This is a Gaffney puzzle anyway...his answers are usually a bit looser.

You use my powers against me, Potter...lol

Mike's the editor, to whom my poem is aimed.

Also I find quite the opposite - that Matt's metas are tighter than Mike's. But shrug, a solve is a solve.

[femullen]

No wonder I stayed in the ship:
Cartoonist names of some renown
Should make you think of Charlie Brown,
A blockhead off the noted Chip.

[ship4u]

This discussion is bringing Eric Clapton to mind.

After midnight, we're gonna let it all hang down
After midnight, we're gonna chug-a-lug and shout
We're gonna stimulate some action
We're gonna get some satisfaction
We're gonna find out what it is all about (what it is all about, what it is all about)

[minimuggle]

Well I join the group swimming back out to the boat and drowning our sorrows with Isaac. I got CHIPS . I then googled CHIP and cartoonist and got Robert John Dunham who was known as Chip. Given that the clue that gave us the "S" was Jacks and that was a nickname for John, and this was Robert JOHN Dunham, I submitted Chip Dunham. Initially I really wanted it to be Charles Shultz so I'm kicking myself. I I saw LIN in Lincoln and thought of Linus. I looked for the other characters but alas found none. So so many rabbit holes. I think I understand now why some of you said you didn't like the answer. Oh well, Have a great week

[Ergcat]

Anyone remember “Charles Chips”….when I was growing up in the 60’s outside Philadelphia, we had a tin of it delivered every week or so!

[Wendy Walker]

Anyone remember “Charles Chips”….when I was growing up in the 60’s outside Philadelphia, we had a tin of it delivered every week or so!

YES! We got their chips and pretzels delivered. In fact, I still use this tin to store birdseed!

[Magistra]

Anyone remember “Charles Chips”….when I was growing up in the 60’s outside Philadelphia, we had a tin of it delivered every week or so!

YES! We got their chips and pretzels delivered. In fact, I still use this tin to store birdseed!

So...maybe "Pretzels" is another nickname for Charles? Heh, heh. I've got four days to dig my self out of this underground rabbit complex.