07.18.07 -- ET TU?

Assassination of Julius Caesar (100-44 B.C.) in Roman senate. Painting (19th century), Vincenzo Camuccini

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Wednesday, July 18, 2007

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Puzzle by Tibor Derencsenyi, edited by Will Shortz

FAMOUSLASTWORDS (41A) and six related entries are the main feature of today’s crossword puzzle -- however, these are not “famous last words” but simple everyday farewell remarks: 1A SOLONG, 7A GOTTARUN, 39A SAYONARA, 45A AUREVOIR, 73A TIMETOGO, and 74A BYEBYE.

Misnomer aside, this is a well-constructed and pleasant puzzle -- and, I suppose, 41A is deliberately misleading in order to give the crossword a modicum of difficulty it would not otherwise possess.

This is a very talkative puzzle with a fair variety of everyday remarks in addition to the farewell remarks: OKAYBYME (16A “That’s fine”) and ISURECAN (71A “Be delighted”); “YOUVE got mail" (31D); UMS (13D Speakers' no-nos); "I love him like ASON" (38D); ISEE (65D "Mm-hmm"); "Do ASI do" (67D); NANA (5D Sha follower); YOWLS (35D Cries from the woods); and even an ORATOR (2D Keynote speaker, e.g.).

TRIBAL (15A Like "Survivor" groups), RAMONA Quimby of children's books (17A); PICKIEST (18A Most finicky); ATPEACE (19A Not fighting); SATIRES (63A Works of Swift and Wilde); HASBEENS (66A They're over the hill); BISTRO (70A Dancing locale); ONEALL (72A Low tie); and ROSARIO (24D Actress Dawson of "Rent") are the other longer entries -- a mix of the old and the new.

Happenstance fill includes GOP, RYE, UMS, NET, TOE, EEL, EER, EYE, BAS, LID, TAS, LOA, ELL, IRE, OAK, AVE, HIT, ASI, and SUM -- a normal amount for a puzzle with six or seven cordoned-off areas rendering the whole as several small ones.

Among the four-letter words, DEET (60D Bug juice?) was a word of which I'd never heard, or if I did, didn't remember; DECO (61D Like Radio City Music Hall, informally) brought to mind good memories; BEAR (26D Polar denizen) and BYRD (27D Polar explorer) stand astride each other with their Shortzesque clues; and I'll stop here before anyone can LOBBY (32A Push [for]) me to ENDIT (48A Call the whole thing off) -- so long, gotta run, sayonara, au revoir, time to go, bye bye! -- famous last words!

61D

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