Wednesday, July 4, 2007
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Puzzle by Patrick Blindauer, edited by Will Shortz
HAPPYBIRTHDAY (35A July 4th message to America)!
A MAGICAL (25D Enchanting) crossword puzzle full of fireworks, a little riot of eclecticism -- guaranteed to displease those who pigeon-hole puzzles by days of the week and genre.
Yes! all of that and a surprise ending! Like words and letters instead of fire and gunpowder, a gimmick provides holiday fun; however, it's only after it's been solved. At that point, one is to follow the directions in a note attached which reads: "When this puzzle has been completed, shade in the letters of 35-Across everywhere they appear in the grid, revealing three letters and three lines." -- spelling out "USA".
I was reminded of coloring books from my childhood. Yes, you're correct -- I actually did it with crayons! So after you've done your part of the puzzle (the solution), hand it over to the kids and let them have at it! Incidentally, one would almost think the original intent was to have circles around the letters instead of coloring in the squares -- that way DIRTYHARRY with his RATATATTAT could spell out HAPPYBIRTHDAY USA in bulletholes! I'm sure the kids can manage that -- with or without a hole-punch!
Due to the foregoing, the entries are slaves to the gimmick and this puzzle follows no rules, becoming an explosion of illogical, juxtaposed and alliterative sparklers and possessing a healthy DOSAGE (45D Medicinal amount) with RATATATTAT (18A Knocking sound), ROTO (64A ____-Rooter), ERRATA (47D Mistakes) and RATS (37D “Phooey!“); SMOKE (24A Fire sign?) and KOOLS (50A Mentholated cigarettes); LINA (13A Wertmuller who directed “Seven Beauties”) and LENA (26D Horne who sang “Stormy Weather”); UNO (28D 3 - 2, en espanol) and ONEUP (21D Early Ping-Pong score); OOZY (27D Like mud) and OKEY (43D ____-dokey); ULEES (14A “_____Gold”) and UFOS (16A Sky lights?); DIRTYHARRY (55A Memorable title film role of 1971) and EVEL (61A Risk-taking Knievel); CASES (41A Buys for brew lovers) and CLOSES (1D Shutters); STOKE (15D Tend the hearth) and STARE (51A Gawk [at]); OLA and OLE; LOA and LOU; SST and SLS; SEMS and REMS; ESOS and ENZO: FEW and FURL; ESTATES ONDATES; SECS and EONS, DEAN and DEN; EATIN and EGGON; with FONZ and a TBIRD.
HELL (35D), it’s CUTE (9D Adorable), what’s not to LOVE (22A All you need, in a Beatles song) -- bring on the BBQ and the TNT!
Have a great Fourth of July!
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For today's cartoon, go to The Crossword Puzzle Illustrated.
The New York Times Crossword Puzzle solution above is by the author of this blog and does not guarantee accuracy. If you find errors or omissions, you are more than welcome to make note of same in the Comments section of this post -- any corrections found necessary will be executed promptly upon verification.
Puzzle available on the internet at
THE NEW YORK TIMES -- Crossword Puzzles and Games
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Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Puzzle by Patrick Blindauer, edited by Will Shortz
HAPPYBIRTHDAY (35A July 4th message to America)!
A MAGICAL (25D Enchanting) crossword puzzle full of fireworks, a little riot of eclecticism -- guaranteed to displease those who pigeon-hole puzzles by days of the week and genre.
Yes! all of that and a surprise ending! Like words and letters instead of fire and gunpowder, a gimmick provides holiday fun; however, it's only after it's been solved. At that point, one is to follow the directions in a note attached which reads: "When this puzzle has been completed, shade in the letters of 35-Across everywhere they appear in the grid, revealing three letters and three lines." -- spelling out "USA".
I was reminded of coloring books from my childhood. Yes, you're correct -- I actually did it with crayons! So after you've done your part of the puzzle (the solution), hand it over to the kids and let them have at it! Incidentally, one would almost think the original intent was to have circles around the letters instead of coloring in the squares -- that way DIRTYHARRY with his RATATATTAT could spell out HAPPYBIRTHDAY USA in bulletholes! I'm sure the kids can manage that -- with or without a hole-punch!
Due to the foregoing, the entries are slaves to the gimmick and this puzzle follows no rules, becoming an explosion of illogical, juxtaposed and alliterative sparklers and possessing a healthy DOSAGE (45D Medicinal amount) with RATATATTAT (18A Knocking sound), ROTO (64A ____-Rooter), ERRATA (47D Mistakes) and RATS (37D “Phooey!“); SMOKE (24A Fire sign?) and KOOLS (50A Mentholated cigarettes); LINA (13A Wertmuller who directed “Seven Beauties”) and LENA (26D Horne who sang “Stormy Weather”); UNO (28D 3 - 2, en espanol) and ONEUP (21D Early Ping-Pong score); OOZY (27D Like mud) and OKEY (43D ____-dokey); ULEES (14A “_____Gold”) and UFOS (16A Sky lights?); DIRTYHARRY (55A Memorable title film role of 1971) and EVEL (61A Risk-taking Knievel); CASES (41A Buys for brew lovers) and CLOSES (1D Shutters); STOKE (15D Tend the hearth) and STARE (51A Gawk [at]); OLA and OLE; LOA and LOU; SST and SLS; SEMS and REMS; ESOS and ENZO: FEW and FURL; ESTATES ONDATES; SECS and EONS, DEAN and DEN; EATIN and EGGON; with FONZ and a TBIRD.
HELL (35D), it’s CUTE (9D Adorable), what’s not to LOVE (22A All you need, in a Beatles song) -- bring on the BBQ and the TNT!
Have a great Fourth of July!
-----------------
For today's cartoon, go to The Crossword Puzzle Illustrated.
I found your site on Monday and love it! I do as much of the puzzle as I can and then look at an answer or two on your page, so I can keep going.
ReplyDeleteAs a middle school teacher, I know my students and I can have a lot of fun with your lists of palindromes, oddities, etc.
Thank you!
Bravo! I love your take on today's puzzle, especially the red white and blue. I hope you have a great day.
ReplyDeleteps RATATATTAT is a really fun word to type, eh?
alison
ReplyDeleteWelcome! and thanks for your note! The internet has added a window in the solitary world of crossword puzzles -- my lamp burns around midnight and awaits the daybreak, thankful for bright comments such as yours that shine like the morning sun!
rock rabbit
ReplyDeleteYes, RATATATTAT is a fun word to type, but it trips me up around the third "T" -- I'll have to practice, develop those fingers in the left hand!
This puzzle took ten times longer to blog than to solve!...so you can be sure I appreciate your positive comment!
Have a really great Fourth!
Crayon was definitely a good move. I missed a couple of the letters, so U and A weren't really there...both looked like side-by-side vertical lines. I still don't get what the horizontal lines were for, but it looks so nice in color that I don't care.
ReplyDeleteHappy 4th! We'll be tranquilizing Dooley in a little bit, before the noise begins.
Glad you liked the puzzle - great coloring job, too!
ReplyDeleteBest,
PBlindauer
PBlindauer
ReplyDeleteWell, it was a unique puzzle...oh, and sure am glad you liked the coloring job, nicest compliment I've gotten since kindergarten!
Excellent website. Good work. Very useful. I will bookmark!
ReplyDelete