A lance corporal might be a U. S. Marine but the clue requested his orgaization, the U. S. Marine Corps. I'm vaguely offended since the abbreviation is, 99.99% of the time USMC. There maybe one saving grace for David however:
"I'm a hayseed,
"My hair is seaweed
"And my ears are made of leather.
"How they flop in rainy weather.
"Gosh all hemlock,
"Tough as a pine knot:
"We're United States Marines!"
Mother taught me that song along with a few others. Near the end of WWII she was a staff sergeant in the Corps, a Link Trainer instructor at the Cherry Point, NC Marine Corps Air Station. One day, she was tasked to instruct Tyrone Power in the skills of instrument flying on the 1944 equivalant of MS Flight Simulator. Another girl, however, rigged the assignment so she would get the movie star. Tough luck but there was a compensation. A tall young pilot, a T3 sgt, who eventually became her husband and my father. CORPS was drilled into me from the age of four. My mom even taught me hospital corners and to bounce a quarter off the blanket of my "rack" (that's USMC for bed). When I was eight or nine, I called my mother a BAM to be funny. She actually slapped me. (Google "bam usmc" and you'll get it).
Ok, so overall, I liked this puzzle. I had to google for three proper nouns though: BATES, IVAR, and SASHAFIERCE. I'm a blues guy, I don't listen to R&B so I don't think I've ever heard anything by Beyonce. Other than those, I enjoyed wrapping my head around the other clues. Loved the [Cannes neighbors] when I finally figured out the clue was meta.
Do I apologise (note 'Anglo-Saxon spelling) for a rant now?
I first came across UGGs in 1968 or 9 in a little shop in Crows Nest, a northern suburb of Sydney. They were fairly dear for those days at A$12.00 but I bought them and loved them almost instantly. Those early forms had only the same sheepskin as the tops for soles. Still, they lasted a decent time before wearing out. @LMS, I hate wearing socks and have done since I was in second grade when I pressured my mother to buy me cowboy boots and the socks would bunch up inside them.
The story of UGGs: a surfer from the northern beaches around Sydney was cold one morning after riding the waves. After walking up the beach to the towels etc. he stood on a sheepskin he and his mates had brought with them to the beach (sheepskins are a common thing to have in Australia) and decided that was comfy and warm so he went home and made the prototype booties. A few days later, he wore them to the beach and one of his mates declared, "Those are Ugly! Will you make me a pair?" UGGs, born of the surfing culture of New South Wales and an icon of Australian foot ware. I owned UGGs the entire time I was in Australia and wore them often in lieu of shoes. I next found them in a large department store with the initial "N" in the mid eighties and I've not been without them since.
I have to thank young David for a 99.44% great puzzle and for pointing out to me that Oprah and I actually have something in common.
As I pointed out in an earlier post, I've spoken three varieties of English in my life and I've done crosswords on three continents. So, as they wear out, I tire of replacing the tyres on my car.
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