04.30.07 -- Band, Bend, Bind, Bond, Bund & Brando!

Click here for LARGE PRINT

Puzzle by Allan E. Parrish, Edited by Will Shortz

Binding this puzzle together is a mini-theme with the words “band, bend, bind, Bond and bund” (alphabetically), and (57A Actor Brando) MARLON for Monday!

The second halves of RUBBERBAND (17A Elastic holder), SOUTHBEND (25A Home of Notre Dame), SPELLBIND (36A Entrance, as through oratory), JAMESBOND (51A Ian Fleming creation) and GERMANBUND (60A 1930s political group) are the glue for this nifty little Monday puzzle!

Besides Brando, other references to the world of show-biz and art include MOMA (14A N.Y.C. cultural center), DIANE (24A “Cheers” woman), YUK (34A Three Stooges laugh), YMCA (43A 1978 hit with the lyric “You can get yourself clean, you can have a good meal”) ETHAN (64A Filmmaker Coen), AMRADIO (1D Medium for mostly news and talk these days), RCA (7D Color TV pioneer) SKA (10D Jamaican music) KINNEAR (11D Greg of “You’ve Got Mail”), SIMPSON (41D Bart or Lisa), and MCCLURE (44D Doug of “The Virginian”) -- a hefty amount of entertainment-related clue/entries, but hey it’s Monday!

This is the kind of puzzle office workers (and especially their managers) love! Do it quickly on the train or at the coffee break -- and get right down to work!

Read today's Madness...Crossword and Otherwise!

...and for a rant on German Bund read: Rex Parker

Illustrations: Above -- Marlon Brando in “A Streetcar Named Desire”. Below -- German American Bund parade on East 86th St., New York City, October 30, 1939

Puzzle available on the internet at

THE NEW YORK TIMES -- Crossword Puzzles and Games

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04.29.07 -- SPINNING -- the Sunday Acrostic

A depiction of spinning by Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velazquez 1664-1648

ACROSTIC

Sunday, April 29, 2007

By Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon

This Sunday New York Times Acrostic covers a good bit of the cloth-making world. The final quote is an amusing one from Holly Welker’ “Satin Worship” (see the quote in puzzle form below). The quote utilizes the difference between spinning and quilting and a good half of the “words defined” are cloth related, which is a good average -- not as impressive as the Sunday, April 15th acrostic, in which all of the “defined words” were topical to the quotation -- but good enough!

As you may know, but might like a quick recap, the Acrostic asks one to “Guess the words defined and write them over their numbered dashes. Then transfer each letter to the correspondingly numbered square in the pattern. Black squares indicate word endings. The filled pattern will contain a quotation reading from left to right. The first letters of the guessed words will form an acrostic giving the author’s name and the title of the work.”

As mentioned in previous posts, this is a lot of “bookkeeping”; however, The New York Times includes the Acrostic in their Games & Puzzles site, which alleviates a lot of the tactile chore, if somewhat reducing the challenge.

“Defined words” relating in one way or another to today’s Acrostic quotation include HARLEQUIN (A. Having a pattern of brightly colored diamond shapes), LAMBSKIN (C. Fleecy pelt for a winter oat), WARP (F. Crosser at right angles of Answer Q), KNITTING (I. Craft that could be called loopy?), EMBROIDERY (J. “Home Sweet Home” location), INSTITCHES (O. Cracked up by a tailor’s joke? [2 wds.]), WOOF (Q. What goes back and forth in a shuttle), RATTAN (S. Caning material) and POLYESTER (W. Synthetic fabric that resists wrinkles).

All in all a pleasant solving experience for a rainy day.

Illustrations: Quilting Bee, Grandma Moses (Anna Mary Moses) 1950,

spinning wheel, embroidery, harlequin pattern, loom, warp and woof,

caning with rattan, knitting.

Click on any image to enlarge.

04.29.07 -- Voila Viola!

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Click here for LARGE PRINT.

CIRCLE OF FRIENDS

Puzzle by Henry Hook, Edited by Will Shortz

What an odd gathering -- MARKSPITZ (23A …and 25-Across have “canine” surnames), JUNEPOINTER (25A …and 41-Across sang with their siblings), DONNYOSMOND (41A … and 52-Across are Mormons), KENJENNINGS (52A … and 69-Across have affiliations with “Jeopardy!”), MERVGRIFFIN (69A … and 80-Across have mythological creatures as surnames), ETHELMERMAN (80A … and 99-Across starred in musicals and share their first names with a classic-sitcom couple), FREDASTAIRE (99A … and 101-Across are known for their fancy footwork), and CARLLEWIS (104A … and 23-Across are Olympic gold medallists).

Do these people really belong together? All right, maybe Mark and Carl can jaw about the world of sports, Fred and Ethel can sing a duet; but what happens with June, Donny, Merv and Ken -- I’m sure there are possibilities, but what? I get the Spitz and Pointer thing, the Griffin and Merman thing, the Ethel and Fred thing, but the rest of the circle seems out of tune with what appears to be an attempt at a “theme”. I really can’t say anymore about the “circle”, as I want to stay positive -- but I can’t help myself!

It’s been years, I mean years! since any of these people had topicality-- it’s like this puzzle was written a quarter century ago! Why do I have the feeling I’ve done this puzzle before? I had the same feeling about the Thursday, April 19, 2007 puzzle by Henry Hook. However, that was a good solve, fun!

This Sunday construction is plodding, packed with obscure proper names, archaic usage, words no one uses -- ARGO (105A Xena’s horse), TROW (92D Think way back?), HORNY (29D Keratoid), DURST (108A Showed courage old style), CHIRR (89D Cicada sound) -- simple fill with obtuse clues -- (20A LaSalle and DeSoto) AUTO, (21A Concentration thwarter) NOISE, (50D Make fast) STARVE… oh why go on, I guess I just don’t like plodding along with nothing that sparkles a little bit, and the only exception I saw was (22A Something that might be tucked under the chin) VIOLA.

Voila!, a viola! I’ll name today's puzzle for it, post a picture and hope it entertains our sadly mismatched guests!I’m sure if it is Ultra Vi who is playing, everyone will love it!

Left click on any image to enlarge.

Puzzle available on the internet at:

THE NEW YORK TIMES -- Crossword Puzzles and Games

If you subscribe to home delivery of The New York Times you are eligible to access the daily crossword via The New York Times - Times Reader, without additional charge, as part of your home delivery subscription.

04.28.07 -- IDENTITY THEFT, a Return to the Stone Age

Puzzle by Sherry O. Blackard, edited by Will Shortz

If you wanted a relaxing weekend, today’s puzzle is not going to make you feel at ease with IDENTITYTHEFT (32 Wallet loser’s concern) splayed across its center and flanked by SUITETOATEE (26D Be just right for) and STEREOTYPE (8D Cast in a certain role), which are a couple of goals of an ANONYM (22A Unidentified person) behind ENEMYLINES (5d Hostile territory is behind them) who ENTERS (58A Joins) your password, TANGLES (25A Mats), PICKS AT (38A Barely eats) LEAVINGS (18A Refuse) for ONEYEAR (27A Like many leases) and finally TOREINTO (52A Gave what for) or will TEARAT (1D Cause anguish in) your life ALLOUT (51A Complete) and send your life to the STONEAGE (16A Primitive). ...uh, you do the grammar…!

To keep you otherwise occupied, this puzzle gives you little niceties like ELKE (34D Sommer of “The Prize”) and ENKE (45A Three-time speed skating gold medalist Karin) (“Enke, Elke. Elke, Enke!), a bouquet of REDROSES (57A Alternative to a box of chocolates), hopes you like EGGPLANT (13D Ratatouille ingredient) for DESSERT (14A Something a loser may skip) at a table with a TRIVET (1A Table saver) with music from TABLAS (48A They may accompany sitars) to sooth your EAR (53D Sound system component?)!

Obtuse clues, obscure answers, odd results, unusual placement -- but!, only two abbreviations, and both baseball: CLE (49A A. L. Central team, on scoreboards) and DPS (21A Twin killings, in baseball: Abbr.); however, the abbreviations we need for the New York Yankees are EMT and CPR! -- the Red Sox are dancing in the Bronx!

For three completely different views of today's puzzle read:

LINDA at MADNESS...CROSSWORD & OTHERWISE

REX PARKER DOES THE NYT CROSSWORD PUZZLE

ORANGE at DIARY OF A CROSSWORD FIEND.

Puzzle available on the internet at THE NEW YORK TIMES -- Crossword Puzzles and Games

If you subscribe to home delivery of The New York Times you are eligible to access the daily crossword via The New York Times - Times Reader, without additional charge, as part of your home delivery subscription.

04.27.07 -- SHAZAM!

Puzzle by Randolph Ross, edited by Will Shortz

Now you see it -- now you don’t! A very likeable droll puzzle for Friday, if a bit more ARID (48D Like most of Mongolia) than wont, this construction is full of words with spring and magic, both prosaic and inferential. The images of magic abound with insects that walk on water (59A), flesh that breaks stone (10D), songs that win the day (6D), water springing from the earth (45A), a hell-bound hero whose love vanishes into the air (9D), computers that work once more after crashing (17A), a king who vanishes to a secret tomb (22A), goals are tackled (33A), done in time (56A) and apropos (32A), an attempter (34D) succeeds in securing an open line (15A) with magic words (28D).

59A STRIDERS (Insects that walk on water)

10D KARATECHOP (Block splitter)

6D HITRECORDS (Billboard listing)

45A SARASOTASPRINGS (Resort town northwest of Naples)

9D ORFEO (Monteverdi opera)

17A REBOOTED (Got going after a crash)

22A SOPHOCLES (Author of “Oedipus at Colonus”)

33A TACKLED (Took on)

56A INTIME (Before the deadline)

32A APROPOS (On point)

34D ATTEMPTER (Trying person)

15A OPENLINE (Opportunity for a radio talk show caller)

28D OPENSESAME (Magical in)

Divided into six sections with a cross in the middle, there are no three-space entries, with only three four-letter abbreviations: -- OPER (2d Abbr. To the right of a star), OPEDS (23D Many Molly Ivins writings) and SSGT (38D U.S.A.F. rank). That in itself is a small miracle.

DRAWBRIDGE (19A Sign before a crossing) presides over this magic brew like a warning to Mickey Mouse in “Fantasia” -- one can almost see the brooms hard at work to The Sorcerer's Apprentice!

This is a crossword puzzle rich in its wealth of words -- a friendly solve for a Friday!

Illustrations: 19A DRAWBRIDGE -- Vincent van Gogh. Drawbridge with Carriage. March 1888. Oil on canvas. Rijksmuseum Kröller-Müller, Otterlo, Netherlands. 10D KARATECHOP, 59A STRIDERS, 22A SOPHOCLES ("Author of "Oedipus at Colonus") Oedipus at Colonus by Fulchran-Jean Harriet.

Puzzle available on the internet at THE NEW YORK TIMES -- Crossword Puzzles and Games If you subscribe to home delivery of The New York Times you are eligible to access the daily crossword via The New York Times - Times Reader, without additional charge, as part of your home delivery subscription.

04.26.07 -- Gouging, Glyphs, Graphs and Glitches

Puzzle by Mike Nothnagel, edited by Will Shortz

This is one of those crossword puzzles that are often mistakenly referred to as a "rebus puzzle". Well, it’s not -- it is a crossword puzzle with a theme utilizing rebus entries. There is a difference. For example, could it be said due to the fact that this puzzle utilizes NTEST (39D Weapons check, in brief), EMTS (29a CPR experts), COED (11D Not same-sex) and UFO (36A Subject of many X-Files) that it is an "abbreviation puzzle" -- well, no. It is a crossword puzzle with abbreviations. Why? Majority rules. If I find no comment to the contrary, the above is obviously accepted in this blog by those who may visit

Torso of Belvedere (Apollonius of Athens)

There is a “theme” included as part of this crossword puzzle to which ITSGONNACOSTYOU (37A Bargaining phrase…and a hint to this puzzle’s theme) vaguely hints at what turns out to be two entries of two glyphs, an "arm" and a "leg", for a total of four glyphs (or, if you prefer the word rebus, have it your way). The two "arm" glyphs are utilized with the crossing answers of 2D and 17D, 38D and 48A. The two "leg" glyphs with the crossing answers of 9D (One column in the periodic table) and 21A, 47D and 60A.

The “fill” is quite varied and good -- lots of obscurities -- never heard of REAM (5A Swindle, in slang) being used as clued, nor STICK (42A Nail, as a gymnastic landing) or those folk included BELA (14A Banjoist Fleck) and TOSH (51D Reggae musician Peter). Devious clues include 5D Bring back; 34A Kind of officer; 60A Something never shown in bars; 1A Declines; 39D Weapons check, in brief; and 40D Victors of 1865. Liked the “look“ of 53D XBOX. Lots of little statements included --20A. SEETOIT, 26A INTIME, 27D NOTSO, 32D IFOLD, 52A AHME, 59A OHBOY, 63A OKOK, 2D “My stars!“, 3D “Would ILIE?”, 35D “Come ONIN!”, 52D “Alas!”, et cetera. Wondered if the constructor or the editor of this puzzle came up with the cluing for EDIT (1A Shorten, say).

Have never heard the jingle referred to in the clue for 38D, nor “South Park” brother in the clue for 61D -- knew 7D Bat material had to be ASH, because there weren’t four spaces and it's The New York Times!

Illustrations: 39D, 9D, 36A, 60A, 9D, Heiroglyphs, 37A, 38D, 37A, 37A -- left click on image to enlarge.

The use of hydrogen in airships effectively ended with the crash of the hindenburg in 1937. The Hindenburg, a German passenger airship, became famous when it burst into flames while docking in New Jersey in 1937, after a transatlantic flight. The Hindenburg, like many airships built during the early 1900s, used a hydrogen-filled envelope, not helium. Hydrogen (H) is lighter and was easier to get.

Puzzle available on the internet at THE NEW YORK TIMES -- Crossword Puzzles and Games If you subscribe to home delivery of The New York Times you are eligible to access the daily crossword via The New York Times - Times Reader, without additional charge, as part of your home delivery subscription.