06.12.08 -- Time...

Groucho Marx, by Al Hirschfeld

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Thursday, June 12, 2008

Click here for abridged post in LARGE PRINT.

Puzzle by Alex Boisvert, edited by Will Shortz

GROUCHOMARX (56A. Speaker of the quip revealed by the ends of the answers to 17-, 25-, 35- and 48-Across), QUALITYTIME (17A. Precious moments), GODSWOUNDS (25A. Phrase from which the exclamation “Zounds!” comes), LOVECONQUERSALL (35A. Motto derived from Virgil) and SPIKEHEELS (48A. Dominatrix’s wear) are the inter-related entries of this light-hearted and pleasant Thursday crossword puzzle.

Other double-takes in the puzzle include SUPERMEN (37D. George Reeves and Christopher Reeve); ALE (10D. Bar choice) and STOUT (26D. Bar choice), along with a SOUSE and SOUSA; RUT (57D. Sticking point) and AWL (59D. It has a sticking point), AJAR crosses AUJUS; AONE followed by AHOLE and both EYE and EAR ... APPEAR.

Fill-in-the-blank clues include 15A. “The uncertain glory of an APRIL day”: Shakespeare; 33A. Like AHOLE in the head; 52A. IPSO facto; 62A. Inner EAR; 22D. Maugham’s “The Painted VEIL”; 23D. AFRO-American; and 39D. LUNA moth.

Additional long entries are TIPTOES (goes nicely with SPIKEHEELS), BARRIOS, BSIDES, CALSTATE, EFLATS, ENCINO, ESPANA, EZPASS, OPERAS, RISERS, TECHIE, YEOLDE, followed by the five-letter APRIL, ANISE, AUDIE, ELECT, ENLAI, EQUIP, IRATE, HOIST, LACES, NEWEL, OPTED, QATAR, SAYSO, SITAR, STEPS.

Remaining short stuff -- COP, DEE, NEZ, ESQ, ESTH, ERAT, ETA, GAS, LIU, LSAT, ODE, REA, RKO, SIM, SLAV, SRS, TRIO, URI, WILE, XLI and OOOH (36D. “How exciting!”)!

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For today's cartoon, go to The Crossword Puzzle Illustrated.

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Puzzle available on the internet at

THE NEW YORK TIMES -- Crossword Puzzles and Games

Across: 1. Give a majority of the vote; 6. “Semper Fidelis” composer; 11. Feature of a peacock’s tail; 14. Instrument often played while sitting on the floor; 15. “Te uncertain glory of an ___ day”: Shakespeare; 16. ___ Perce tribe; 19. Filch; 20. Drunkard; 21. Arizona county or river; 22. Seemingly endless; 29. Notes in C minor chords; 31. Goes quietly; 32. Red in the face, maybe; 33. Like ___ in the head; 41. Lift; 42. French menu phrase; 43. Some neighborhoods; 47. Neighbor of Francia; 51. Form of the Latin “esse”; 52. ___ facto; 53. Peninsular nation; 55. Actor Billy ___ Williams; 62. Inner ___; 63. Murphy of “The Red Badge of Courage”; 64. End of a railing; 65. Some yearbook signers: Abbr.; 66. Arthur Murray instruction; 67. China’s Zhou. Down: 1. Atty.’s title; 2. Sch. In Brooklyn; 3. Cockpit guess, for short; 4. Fullerton campus; 5. ZZ Top, e.g.; 6. Unsupported statement; 7. Chose; 8. Canton bordering Valais; 9. Computer family member; 10. Bar choice; 11. San Fernando Valley community; 12. Start of many an English inn’s name; 13. Thruway convenience; 18. Yanks; 21. Kind of instinct; 22. Maugham’s “The Painted ___”; 23. ___-American; 24 Dweller along the Danube; 26. Bar choice; 27. Chicanery; 28. Met expectations?; 30. Geek Squad member; 33. Flavoring for pfeffernusse; 34. Command centers: Abbr.; 36. “How exciting!”; 37. George Reeves and Christopher Reeve; 38. Admitting just a little light, maybe; 39. ___ moth; 40. Its max. score is 180; 43. They’re opposite hits; 44. Materialize; 45. Choral platforms; 46. Studio of “Notorious” and “Suspicion”; 47. Book before Job: Abbr.; 49. Rig out; 50. They’re found above tongues; 54. Dynamite; 56. Rightmost pedal; 57. Sticking point; 58. W.H. Auden wrote one to his pupils; 59. It has a sticking point; 60. New Deal inits.; 61. Year Claudius I became emperor.