Newbie Seeking Theme Advice

[wogget]

Hi, first time poster here.

I'd like some advice on a theme, possibly for a 21x21.  Centered in the grid is
a sentence my teenage daughter always asks me "Where's my charger?" surrounded
by different types of chargers-- Dodge muscle car, AC Adapter, under plate. 
None of the entries or clues would use the word charger.

Some of the ideas are clearly symonyms of charger:

footballplayer (San Diego)
whipitcanister
musclecar (Dodge)
AC adapter
heavyhorse
underplate (or maybe serviceplate)

Some I have might be a stretch to call a "charger" (though some I really like):

thelightbrigade
americanexpress
teslacoil (or vandegraaf generator though I doubt I could make that work)
grandjury (better yet district attorney)

Other options I'm playing with:

cavalryhorse
cartridgeclip
ammunitionclip
whiterhino

Does anyone have any feeling on this idea? Does the theme have legs? Should I dump all those entries I have a questions about or are some of them legit? What about footballplayer? Is it better to be specific and shoehorn San Diego into the entry or is the generic footballplayer clear enough? 

Thanks for any feedback

-Ted

[jorkel]

This idea might fall into the theme class where a single word is used to define three or more theme entries (for a 15x15 daily puzzle;  I don't think the idea is interesting enough to supersize it to a 21x21 Sunday puzzle). 

You'd have to pair up the best ones lengthwise, but the general idea illustrated here:
SANDIEGOTEAM (12) - [Chargers]
PHONEPLUGINS (12) - [Chargers]
DODGEMUSCLECARS (15) - [Chargers]
CREDITCARDUSERS (15) - [Chargers]
WHIPITCANISTERS (15) - [Chargers]
UNDERPLATES (11) - [Chargers]
HEAVYHORSES (11) - [Chargers]
etc.

Now having said that, I don't find the last three entries very interesting / gettable.  Plus, the idea has now been discussed in an open forum, so may not be viable with some editors.

What you could take away from this example is a template for designing something similar.  I.e., virtually any word which has three or more distinct (and interesting) usages could be employed here.  With just three crisp and lively theme entries you'd be good to go.

-Joe