Charles

@Conn--"No animals were harmed during the solving of this xword puzzle"

@Charles--Older rice cookers do use a thermostat to stop cooking; newer and more expensive models use computer chips.

@Mean Old Lady--Solenoid activates the Bendix which kick starts the starter which rotates the crankshaft which rotates all the other moving parts including (in older cars) the distributor rotor sending sequential electrical pulses to each spark plug igniting the fuel/air mixture which causes the pistons to push down onto the crankshaft and keep the engine running. And it all starts with the battery.

@Barry Ancona--easy fix in the cluing: carpenters belt

@Jane Wheelaghan--BUBBA is often a mispronunciation of Brother, usually by a toddler learning to speak and says bubba, and the nickname sticks into adulthood.

@JohnW--But only one is a capital city, same with lots of Jacksons, but only one capital.

@Xword Junkie re: pips and humdinger--see the vid on Youtube by the Glenn Miller Orchestra's hit "I got a gal in Kalamazoo" which describes the gal as both

@Eric re: fix... maybe adjust?

@Rock On--Correct on both

@Red Carpet--But officer wouldn't work

@LB--the correct spelling is Hear, Hear as in listen and learn

@Stacey--variation, i.e. a mispelling on purpose

@Mean Old Lady--a pop foul is any pop up which comes down in foul territory, as in behind home or anywhere else outside the baselines

@MmmmHmm--I took it to refer to decoration on an object like furniture or a building, maybe tacky

@Seth--Agreed. Conga see Desi Arnaz standing behind it, bongo think a smoky beat club where people applaud by snapping fingers

@NYC Traveler--Forgot about Miami Sound Machine and Congas!

@CherryOz is short for Aussie (Ozzie) an Australian, as is Throckmorton, apparently.

@Jim re: HEROS is what English speaking peoples ears hear when a Greek speaker says GYROS

@Grant re: Trotsky-- actually an ice axe

@Helen Wright -- ever heard of or eaten Cream of Wheat? Grits are cream of corn (not a brand name)

@Susan E--Ya think?

@Calig--laughed out loud! So right you are

@Anonymous---re durag/dorag--there was a ? a few days ago about the abbreviation var. short for variation. A variation in a xword puzzle is a deliberate misspelling by the constructor to make the crossing clues fit, some might consider that cheating, but Mean Old Lady is correct as to DOrag from hairDO.

@D: Hear, Hear

@NYC Traveler--Lap belts were a dealer installed option before '66, shoulder belts (separate from the lap belts) were standard from '69 on in GM cars.

@H.E.==Store Keeping Unit

@H.E. P.S. If a horse has horseshoes, it is shod, not shoed