Friday, March 7, 2008
Puzzle by Paul Gamache, edited by Will Shortz
Sir Edmund Percival Hillary stood on top of the world on May 29, 1953, and just this year, January 11th, left this world completely at age 88. CLAIMTOFAME (1A. Climbing Mt. Everest, for Sir Edmund Hillary) opens this crossword, and REGENTSPARK (48A. London Zoo locale) closes it. In between there is THEWOMANILOVE (12A. 1937 Paul Muni drama); JEALOUSMISTRESS (14A. Art metaphorically); VITAL STATISTICS (45A. Census Bureau data); and NOTATANYPRICE (47A. Only if it’s worth the trade-off). Slashing down the center of the puzzle is TAMPERRESISTANT (6D. Like most medicine bottles), something this crossword is not, which is just fine when scaling this perilous peak of a puzzle!
Other stuff across: 16. History; 17. Probe; 18. Manfred MANNS Earth Band; 19. Roman well; 20. Basic verse option; 21. Whacked; 22. Drum containers; 23. Site of the siege of Candia; 24. Feaster on frogs; 25. Legato indicator; 26. Coast Guard boat; 29. Cowboys, but not Indians; 32. Fitting decision?; 33. Clued in, once; 36. Stains; 37. Delicate; 38. Singer who is part owner of Forbes magazine; 39. First name in fragrances; 40. “In that area”; 41. Cousin in a Balzac title; 42. Cut across; 44. Reminiscent of the 1890s.
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Going down: 1. Remote access?; 21. Stanford of Stanford University; 3. Base runners?; 4. Evidence that one is short; 5. A foot has 305 of these: Abbr.; 7. Things in rings; 8. Big name in college guides; 9. Old one, along the Oder; 10. Holmes fought him; 11. 50-50 proposition; 12. Hand holding; 13. Passing subject?; 14. Artist Wyeth; 15. Not lit; 19. Princess Ozma’s creator; 22. Nine ELMS (London district); 23. Bug zapper?; 25. “Dear” ones; 26. Under a quilt, say; 27. Set off; 28. “Blue II” painter, 1961; 29. It’s headquartered in the G.E. Building; 30. Sacramento suburb; 31. Global positioning system, e.g.; 33. Bit of jazz improvisation; 34. Bait; 35. Meter makers; 37. Certain inverse function; 38. Get going; 40. Honduras-to-Guatemala direccion; 41. City bombed in the gulf war; 43. Waste; 44. Rockne protégé; 46. Country singers England and Herndon.
The full quotation for 14A? "Art is a jealous mistress, and if a man has a genius for painting, poetry, music, architecture or philosophy, he makes a bad husband and an ill provider." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
DIMMEMORY (27A. It's hard to recall) tells me Sir Hillary was asked why he climbed Mt. Everest -- well, I'd guess the same reason one does a crossword puzzle -- because it’s there!
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To follow Donald's trail through the puzzle, along with link to follow Hillary's trail up Everest, go HERE!
For today’s cartoon, go to The Crossword Puzzle Illustrated.
Click on image to enlarge.
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