05.11.08 -- E? I?…E? I?…Oh!

EIEIO by Dena Haynes

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Sunday, May 11, 2008

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DONE WITH EASE, Puzzle by Tony Orbach and Patrick Blindauer, edited by Will Shortz

Hope you like puns -- get ready to groan! Eight across entries -- NOWEANSITUATION (23. State of a bottle-fed baby?); ORIGINALSCENE (38. A platform in front of Elsinore in “Hamlet?); FEELINGSTATION (51. Massage therapist’s office?); TEAMDUNCAN (67. Group of yo-yo experts?); SHEENGUARD (70A. One willing to take a bullet for Martin or Charlie?); ABANDONEDSHEEP (91. Little Bo-Peep’s charges?); PEATORCHESTRA (99. Musicians at a marsh?); MINNESOTATWEENS (120. St. Paul sixth graders?), along with ELONGATE (93-Down: Stretch … or a hint to this puzzle’s theme?), are this Sunday crossword puzzle’s main entries which are metamorphosed via substitution of letters and imaginary exchange of the sound of the letter “i" for the letter “e” from ”No-win situation, original sin, filling station, Tim Duncan, shin guard, abandon ship, pit orchestra, and Minnesota Twins” to the aforementioned feeble paronomasia.

The remainder of the puzzle is rather antiseptic -- the six-to-eight-letter entries are even less inspired: ACETONE, AMOEBA, ANGULAR, ANIONS, ARTURO, CCLAMPS, DIETER, EASTLA, EMBASSY, EMBEDS, ERROLL, ERSATZ, GLAREDAT, INDIRA, JETSFAN, JUMPSEAT, GLAREDAT, LUELLA, MANETS, NEUTER, OCTANE, OHSURE, PEROXIDE, PREYSON, REPLETE, RESONANT, ROBSON, ROLLEDIN, SEASONS, SISSY, SONGS, STEPON, TEABAGS, USEFORCE.

Hot on the heels of that group of ho-hums are a flotilla of five-letter entries, including AFLAT, AMINO, ASBAD, AZTEC, KALEL, ONEPM, DELON, DRAPED, ECONO, EDENS, EDUCT, GHANA, IDEAS, JANOS, KALEL, LEADA, LLAMA, NBAER, NYSNC, ONYOU, PEEKA, QUASH, REUNE, RULES, SODOI, STYLE, TEWES, TIMOR, TIROL, ZELIG; four-letter entries AARE, ACES, AGRI, AIWA, AMEX, ANKA, ANSE, ATOP, AUST, AZUR, BING, CINQ, DUDE, EMAG, EMIL, ENID, ENZO, FOAM, KNEE, HERO, INTL, JOTS, LILI, LOGE, MANN, MEWS, MISS, MYMY, NATO, NEHI, NONE, OATH, OCTA, OMAN, POOL, RANG, SLUE, SOSO, SUMP, TADA, TIRE, TNUT, UNIT, YALE; and finally, three-letter left-overs ANN, ANT, ARP, CDE, DVO, ESO, GPA, HCL, LEI, NEA, NYS, SKA, ULT, WOO.

Substitute letters at will -- it doesn't really matter!

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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.

1. Rooter at the Meadowlands; 8. Lean and bony; 15. Superman, to his father; 20. Common solvent; 21. Filled; 22. Acid in proteins; 25. Woody Allen title role; 26. Afternoon hr.; 27. Construction bit; 28. Bleacher; 30. Comme ci, comme ca; 31. Was visibly irked with; 35. Shower with flowers, say; 36. Soft drink brand; 44. Contemporary of Duchamp; 47. "Doctor Faustus" novelist; 49. Jazz virtuoso Garner; 50. The toe of a geographical "boot"; 55. Like a Rolek watch; 57. Fashion designer Bartley; 58. Brown alternative; 59. "You can ___ a horse to water ..."; 61. Sentimentality; 62. "Puppy Love" singer, 1960; 63. Jawaharlal Nehru's daughter; 65. Rouge roulette number; 76. Neighbor of Hung.; 77. Fixes firmly; 79. Shade on the French Riviera; 80. Calypso offshoot; 83. Actor Alain; 86. It has banks in Bern; 87. Urban area in a Cheech Marin film; 89. 1965 Peace Prize recipient; 94. Catty comments?; 96. 87 or 93; 97. Turn on an axis; 98. Alphabet trio; 99. Musicians at a marsh?; 103. Numerical prefix; 105. Corrosive chemical, to a chemist; 106. Strong and deep; 108. Oversight; 112. Limo feature; 117. "Road" picture partner for Bob; 118. "Same here!"; 119. "The joke's ___!"; 125. Indonesian island; 126. Victimizes; 127. Brewing needs; 128. Do; 129. Calendar divisions; 130. ___ Row. Down: ___ Kadar, 1950s-'80s Hungarian leader; 2. Low-price prefix; 3. "The Love Boat" actress Lauren; 4. Squash, squish or squelch; 5. Head; 6. Gloucester's Cape ___; 7. Chick; 8. Cuban-born jazz great Sandoval; 9. Fix; 10. 3.9, e.g.: Abbr.; 11. Final: Abbr.; 12. Gift with a string attached? 13. Over; 14. Fix-up; 15. Buzzers; 18. Green card, informally; 17. Leslie Caron title role; 18. Home of the Chisholm Trail Expo Center; 19. Front of a mezzanine; 24. ___ big way; 29. Casually showed up; 31. Land west of Togo; 32. The less you see of this person the better; 33. Intro to business?; 34. Alpine region; 37. German biographer ___ Ludwig; 39. ___ of the above; 40. Romaine; 41. Online periodical, for short; 42. Warsaw Pact; 43. Automaker Ferrari; 44. Key of Elgar's Symphony No. 1; 45. Get the class back together; 45. ___ -boo; 48. "Bye Bye Bye" band, 2000; 52. Cousin of a camel; 53. "Aren't I amazing?!"; 54. Skirt type; 56. Called; 60. Good blackjack holdings; 63. Like G8 meetings: Abbr.; 64. "There's no such thing ___ publicity"; 66. Subdue; 68. "My man!"; 69. Resort to violence; 71. "Three cheers" recipient; 72. Ideal sites; 73. Like some pyramids; 74. Lined; 76. Don, as a sari; 78. "Luncheon on the Grass" and others; 80. Well; 81. Baby-bouncing locale; 82. Sanyo competitor; 84. Words to live by; 86. Hornet, e.g.; 87. Extracted chemical; 88. "___ of Six" (Joseph Conrad story collection); 90. Hrs. on the 90th meridian; 92. Addie's husband in "As I Lay Dying"; 96. Shop grippers; 100. "And I'm the queen of England"; 101. Director Mark of "Earthquake"; 102. Particles in electrolysis; 104. Slide presentation?; 107. Amazon ___; 109. They might be bounced off others; 110. Troubadour's stock; 111. Wimp; 112. Scribbles (down); 113. Body of troops; 114. "Well, I declare!"; 115. Summer hangout; 116. Poop; 118. Seaborne lackey; 121. Org. interested in schools; 122. Albany is its cap.; 123. That's "that" in Tijuana; 124. Pro ___.