05.31.09 -- Nuts Over Crosswords!

Sunday, May 31, 2009

ODD ONE OUT, Puzzle by Kelsey Blakley, edited by Will Shortz

A note accompanies today’s crossword: Every letter in the answer to each asterisked clue appears an even number of times in that answer … except one. Altogether, these eight unpaired letters can be arranged to spell the answer to 68- and 70-Across.

Some people are NUTS OVER crosswords is the 68/70-Across entry/clue. Not much of a clue, but the down entries are friendly enough to yield the across answer. The second part of this crossword is an anagrammatic afterthought; the note provided is of no help with the solution of the puzzle per se, being merely instructions for anyone who is truly nuts over crosswords that there is more to do. I gathered all the stray letters and still didn’t catch on until the mavens and ravens were rolling their eyes over my denseness. On the other hand, I’m not fond of look-ma-no-hands gimmicks that are of no help in the solution and require one to further dwell upon the crossword. I’m just saying…

N is the odd one out in STRENUOUS EFFORT (46D. *Real work); U in INSUFFICIENCIES (102A. *Deficits); T in UNITARIAN CHURCH (23A. *Religious affiliation of John Adams and William Howard Taft); S in GOES UNDERGROUND (86A. * Hides out); O in TATTERED AND TORN (116A. *Ragged); V in PRIVATE PRACTICE (3D. *Not firm work?); E in ANTIPERSPIRANTS (33A. *You raise your arms for these); R in HIPPOCRATIC OATH (49A. *Physician’s promise).

Across -- 1. End of a footrace; 5. Creator of Princess Ozma; 9. Satellite org.; 13 State below Lower Saxony; 18. “The Pearl of ORRS Island” (Stowe novel); 19. Opposing;; 20. Technological debuts of 1998; 22. Mountain, in Hawaiian; 26. Cry from the bench; 27. Foe; 28. Ascension Day, e.g.: Abbr.; 29. Sword material; 31. Serve notice; 32. Manila pact grp., 1954; 36. Cultivate; 38. Men of La Mancha; 39. Big Apple subway line, with “the”; 40. Do, re, mi; 42. Sailor’s realm; 44. Business partner, sometimes; 45. French word before and after “à”; 46. Busch Stadium locale: Abbr.; 55. “Gloria PATRI” (hymn); 57. Prefix with -naut; 58. Primeval; 59. Oregon city, with “The”; 60. King of England, 946-55; 61. Challenge for H.S. juniors; 62. Film that lost the Best Picture Oscar to “Chariots of Fire”; 64. Hogwarts professor Trelawney, e.g.; 65. Montana Indians; 66. Pilot’s E; 72. Paint choice; 73. Illinois city; 74. Ring; 78. Form of acetyl acetone; 78. Corona; 80. Scenic fabric; 81. Narrow furrows; 83. Maine coon, e.g.; 84. You name it; 85. Reduces to bits; 89. Schooner’s contents; 90. Pack away; 92. Travel plan: Abbr.; 93. Trifling amount; 94. Ocean’s reflection; 95. Boston’s Liberty Tree, e.g.; 96. Lack of faith; 100. Jaw site; 107. Jack Sprat’s dietary restriction; 110. Comes out of one’s skin; 112. Quod ERAT faciendum; 113. EFFIE White, one of the girls in “Dreamgirls”; 114. Given; 119. Class; 120. Bunches; 121. Something to play; 122. Raises the hackles of; 123. Impressionist Degas; 124. Scorched; 125. SWEE’ Pea; 126. Peut-ETRE (maybe, in Marseille).

Down: 1. Hitches; 2. Golf’s Palmer, to friends; 4. Dead giveaway; 5. Honky-tonk; 6. Hill of Hill hearings; 7. The Osmonds, e.g.; 8. Least; 9. Fed. Med. Research agency; 10. Jester, e.g.; 11. Refuser of a 1964 Nobel Prize; 12. Tap into; 13. Managed care grp.; 14. Swab’s target; 15. Nubian Desert locale; 16. Comics canine; 17. Pulls in; 21. Common name for a working dog; 24. Explorer ALONSO Álvarez de Pineda, first European to see the Mississippi; 25. Sea lily, e.g.; 30. “LILI Marlene” (W.W. II love song); 34. Plains Indians; 35. 1967 #1 hit whose lyrics begin “What you want / Baby, I got it”; 37. Style of furnishing; 40. Fellow; 41. Semi fill-up; 43. Democrat Specter; 45. Beta blocker?; 47. It may be tapped; 48. Toppers; 50. Driving hazard; 51. Total; 52. Nondairy product in the dairy section; 53. Popular pain reliever; 54. Ancient playwright who originated the phrase “While there’s life, there’s hope”; 56. Italian Renaissance composer Banchieri; 63. Firewood unit; 67. Personal identity; 69. Je ne SAIS quoi; 71. Laughs one’s head off; 73. Razor brand; 75. Supermodel Hutton; 77. State V.I.P.: Abbr.; 79. Tennis’s Roddick; 81. Towser, e.g., in “Catch-22”: Abbr.; 82. Siren; 87. Those with yens; 88. Shot; 91. AMFM radio; 95. Author Welty; 96. Mercedes-Benz model; 97. Whit; 98. Prynne of “The Scarlet Letter”; 99. Lark’s home; 101. Pushover; 102. Persona; 103. Canceled; 104. Primitive weapon; 105. Whit; 106. Banal; 108. Telecaster; 109. Cliff-hanging; 115. French 42-Across; 117. She can be polled; 118. Born overseas.

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