Houdini in Chains ----------------- Sunday, June 22, 2008 CHAIN REACTION, Puzzle by Pamela Amick Klawitter, edited by Will Shortz Ten inter-related entries are featured in this Sunday crossword, creating a word chain throughout: 23A. FOOD COURT CASECLOSED CIRCUIT BOARD; 25A. CIRCUIT BOARD FOOTLOCKER ROOM SERVICE; 43A. ROOMSERVICE ROADHAZARD LIGHT TOUCH; 55A. LIGHT TOUCH SCREENDOOR BELL PEPPER; 73A. BELL PEPPER SPRAYPAINT BRUSH FIRE; 82A. BRUSH FIRE WALLSTREET SMART CAR; 104A. SMART CAR POOLPLAYER PIANO BAR; 106A. PIANO BAR GRAPHPAPER TRAILHEAD; 36D. TRAILHEAD MASTERCARD COUNTERTOP; 46D. COUNTERTOP DOLLARSIGN POST OFFICE. The clues for the remaining entries:
Across: 1. Third Crusade siege site; 5. Citadel trainee; 10. Where houses traditional have no walls; 15. Isn’t idle; 19. Leeway; 20. Like galleys; 21. Run AFOUL of; 22. Great Lakes salmon; 27. Music may come in it; 28. Stock market worker; 30. Like some sacrifices; 31. Stove option; 32. Is for a group?; 33. Clothing lines; 34. Life’s partner; 37. APRES-midi (French time of day); 41. Like many dorms nowadays; 42. Laughable; 46. Code unit; 49. Covert sound; 50. “Beetle Bailey” character; 51. What greedy people want; 52. Cause someone’s insomnia, maybe; 54. “Git!”; 57. Pet animal of Salvador Dali; 58 Sponge; 60. Sylvia Plath poem that begins “I know the bottom, she says. I know it with my great tap root”; 61. Weightlifter’s rep; 62. Impassioned; 63. Corporate division; 65. Fabric border; 68. Give up; 69. Young newt; 70. Some dates have one; 71. Long-armed Sumatrans; 76. Was idle; 77. Track take; 78. “It’s been real”; 79. Protection; 80. Iota; 81. “Father TED,” hit 1990s British sitcom; 84. Songwriter Carol Bayer SAGER; 85. “Comin’ THRO the Rye”; 86. French word before deux or nous; 87. Dialogue units; 88. Bore; 92. Third-century year; 94. D-Day mo.; 95. Tale of a trip to Ithaca; 96. Shaped, as wood; 100. Julia who starred in “Sabrina,” 1995; 108. Composer Thomas; 109. Irving Berlin’s “ILEFT My Heart at the Stage Door Canteen”; 110. Tennessee teammate; 111. Final Four game; 112. Tomorrow’s opposite: Abbr.; 113. Send; 114. Some seconds; 115. Too: Fr.
Down: 1. Tennis lobs, e.g.; 2. Prince Albert, for one; 3. Gift that might cut; 4. Newly developed, as technology; 5. Pullover shirts; 6. Dweller along the Mekong; 7. Once, old style; 8. Mugful; 9. Work of prose or poetry; 10. More conservative, as investments; 11. In front of, in dialect; 12. Farm call; 13. Best, in a way; 14. Played the enchantress; 15. Gulf of Guinea capital; 16. Alternatives to RCs; 17. THEME park; 18. Blisters; e.g.; 24. “Stop it!”; 26. Place for an opinion; 29. Code unit; 34. Give insider info; 35. Protect; 37. Turkey’s tallest peak; 38. Read carefully; 39. Throw a fit; 40. Heaven on earth; 41. Vikki who sang “It Must Be Him”; 44. Soap plant; 45. Some camera lenses; 47. Oaxaca gold; 48. Hanoi holiday; 50. Teahouse treats; 52. Cut decoratively 53. Brass; 55. Heavy hitter; 56. Area around the mouth; 57. A tremendous supply; 59. 2, 4, 6, 8, etc.; 63. Calyx part; 64. They were seen at Black Power meetings; 65. Like Iran’s Ahmadinejad; 66. Satan is often seen with one; 67. Records; 70. Bull or Buck, e.g.; 71. Make a choice; 72. Paris’s RUE La Fayette; 73. Farm tower; 74. Ball in a basket; 75. “Syriana” actress Amanda; 78. Tote; 80. It’s in front of a mizzen; 82. Something to pop; 83. Write on a BlackBerry, maybe; 84. Eat noisily; 85. Recipe abbr.; 88. Fee for many a doctor’s visit; 89. Put on a pedestal; 90. City on the Rhone; 91. Key; 92. Split; 93. Garcon’s handout; 94. Bordello patrons; 97. Channel for interior decorators; 98. Buffalo’s county; 99. Go out with; 101. Button next to a *; 102. Fictional captain; 103. IV DRIP; 105. A way to vote; 107. Drivel.
This crossword seemed a bit reluctant to provide an escape from its traps and pitfalls of which there are many -- a plodding and tedious solve which in the final analysis provided satisfaction.
The author of this puzzle through the merit of its clever word chain is a regular Houdini!
Click on image to enlarge.
Puzzle available on the internet at
THE NEW YORK TIMES -- Crossword Puzzles and Games
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