Drawing Hands M. C. Escher ----------------- Thursday, May 29, 2008 Puzzle by John Farmer, edited by Will Shortz This is one of those crosswords that requires far more words to explain than are involved. In this case, we are dealing with a mere five squares. Five squares in this very clever crossword contain ACROSS/DOWN. I'll just use a blank square () to indicate both words in this commentary. However, when looking at the across clues, read the square as ACROSS and for the down clues, read it as DOWN. The five pairs of words are as follows: ONE(1A. First clue) and BEAT (4D. Jazz/blues monthly); GOHILL (13D. Hit the skids) and STRETCHES (18A. Spans, as a river); GETPAT (26D. Master) and MOVETOWN (35A. Relocate from one side to the other); LOOKON (39D. Scorn) and THESTREET (58A. Facing one’s house from a short distance away, say); UPSIDE (45D. Inverted) and CUT (68A. Transect). The rest of the puzzle is fairly straight-forward, with two eleven-letter across entries, ARSENIOHALL (29A. “Coming to America” co-star), I entered Eddie Murphy first, and ONEMANBANDS (46A. Versatile performers), a good example is Professor Gizmo one-man-band Tiger Rag. The four corners of the crossword contain additional seven-letter entries each. Upper left, OLESTRA (1D. Faux fat); NARTHEX (2D. Church vestibule) and EMIRATE (3D. Arab territory). Upper right, AREAMAP (11D. Handy guide for a walking tour) and INSCALE (12D. Relative to dimensions); lower left, INVITRO (40D. Like some fertility lab techniques) and LEATHER (41D. Hide in a closet?); and lower right, CARIBOU (43D. Game in the Arctic) and PRESENT (44D. On hand). Six-letter entries include ASSISI (57A. St. Clare’s birthplace); BETRAY (49D. Stab in the back); BRETON (8D. Celt of NW France); NEXTTO (48D. Adjoining); QATARI (9D. Doha dweller); STRAPS (20A. Spots for Velcro). Five-letter, ACURA, AGORA, BARBQ, ACURA, ISAAC, OYVEY, PEETE, PIANO, TANTO, THATI, TIRES, WESTS. Four-letter, ABED, AONE, APES, ARNO, ASWE, ATOY, BASS, CIAO, ERIE, HAIG, LILO, NEWT, NORM, OPEL, OREL, POKE, TONE. Three-letter: ACH, ACT, ARP, AXE, CPU, ENV, ETE, HAH, KIT, MOM, OKD, OVA, RET, RUR, and finally, MAI and TAI. I can't imagine anyone able to write small enough to cram both ACROSS and DOWN into those tiny little squares, nor is there an available symbol lurking in my font file -- so for the following diagram, it's a big black dot! I mean, enough is enough, what?...I should use a magnifying glass! -----------------
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THE NEW YORK TIMES -- Crossword Puzzles and Games
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Across: 5. Outdoor wingding; 10. Secretary of state after Muskie; 14. Innocent; 15. Acura; 16. Arno; 17. Erie; 22. See 27-Across; 23. Oktoberfest exclamation; 24. “You’re the one ___ Want”; 25. Ancient square; 27. With 22-Across, order at a tiki bar; 28. Not active: Abbr.; 32. Let go; 33. ___ Scamander, pseudonym of J. K. Rowling; 34. Auto on the autobahn; 39. Title girl in a 2002 Disney film; 42. Go slowly (along); 43. Chip in a Dell, briefly; 50. Abstract art pioneer Jean; 51. Some modern donations; 52. Quarterback Rodney; 53. Bike shop stock; 55. Word with press or mess; 56. Business no., maybe; 62. In dreamland, perhaps; 63. City on the Oka; 64. Non ___ (not so much, in music); 65. Blue-ribbon; 66. Par for the course; 67. Kvetcher’s cry. Down: 5. Grouper, e.g.; 6. Do something dramatic; 7. Sci-fi debut of 1921; 10. “Fat chance!”; 19. “I’m outta here!”; 21. A Baldwin; 25. “For ___ all know…”; 30. Excite, with “up”; 31. Sweetums; 35. MTV’s “Date My ___”; 36. Blush adds it; 37. Sanctioned; 38. Novelists Nathanael and Rebecca; 47. “Tarzan of the ___”; 54. Hall-of-Fame Nascar racer Bobby; 57. “This is not ___” (warning label); 59. Hardwood source; 60. Stationer’s item: Abbr.; 61. Printemps follower.
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