07.05.09 -- M, no -- P.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

M N O P, Puzzle by Tony Orbach and Amy Reynaldo, edited by Will Shortz

Substituting the letter P for the letter M (M, no -- P. Get it? -- wink, wink…) of nine common phrases resulting in new corny phrases constitutes the interrelated across entries of this Sunday crossword. Smell the roses becomes SPELL THE ROSES (23. Give Axl and Pete a break?); mortal danger, PORTAL DANGER (33. Tripping over a threshold, perhaps?); The Mod Squad, THE POD SQUAD (45. Pea farmers?); boiling mad, BOILING PAD (51. Summer apartment with no air-conditioning?); full metal jacket, FULL PETAL JACKET (69. Floral Technicolor dreamcoat?); stud muffin, STUD PUFFIN (91. Strutting bird on an ice floe?); New York Mets, NEW YORK PETS (94. Residents at a Manhattan A.S.P.C.A.?); man-about-town, PAN ABOUT TOWN (105. Move a movie camera around a community?); mass confusion, PASS CONFUSION (122. Explanation for an interception?) -- all adding up to just one more substitute-a-letter crossword with question-marked clues to justify the switch, -- today it’s the letter P instead of M.

The remainder of the crossword is a plodding and thankless solving chore rather than an exercise in any chamber of amusement, with entry/clues rife with attitude and cuteness. What would one expect, however, on a day after a national celebration -- well, it appears a hangover and leftovers!

Remaining across: 1. Wind source, GASBAG; 7. Escalates, AMPSUP; 13. Watercolor technique, GOUACHE; 20. Annual event held at the Kodak Theater, with “the”, OSCARS; 21. Hero known for his nose, CYRANO; 22. Intertwined, ENLACED; 25. Like the Twenties, ROARING; 26. Language that gave us “pajamas”, HINDI; 27. Saroyan’s “My Name is ARAM”; 28. Elton John/Tim Rice musical, AIDA; 30. A bit more than never, ONCE; 31. CAESARS Palace; 37. Bubbly place?, ASTI; 38. Carries, e.g., STAT; 39. BlackBerry and others, for short, PDAS; 40. Footwear that’s hard to run in, CLOG; 43. Art school subj., ANAT; 54. Home of the Blues: Abbr., STL; 55. Powerful engine, TURBO; 56. Barkin of “Sea of Love”, ELLEN; 57. English author Blyton, ENID; 58. Co. bigwigs, CEOS; 62. “IS IT true?”; 63. Solar RAY; 64. Swindler, FLEECER; 67. Went long, RAN LATE; 73. Madrid newspaper, EL MUNDO; 76. This-and-that preparation, GOULASH; 77. Island near Naxos, IOS; 80. Certain grains, RYES; 81. Sets (on), SICS; 84. Fourier series function, SINE; 85. Lively sonata movement, RONDO; 87. Pauline Kael’s “I LOST It at the Movies”; 89. Blow away, AWE; 98. Yours, in Giverny, ATOI; 99. Nemeses, FOES; 100. Actor Ventimiglia of “Heroes”, MILO; 101. DC Comics super heroine, ISIS; 103. Genetic molecules, RNAS; 110. Some casino staff, DEALERS; 113. Little or Short, APER; 114. Greenish-blue, TEAL; 115. Interlaken’s river, AARE; 117. Emmy-winning co-star of “Chicago Hope”, LAHTI; 119. “Symphonie Fantastique” composer, BERLIOZ; 125. One of the Andrews Sisters, LAVERNE; 126. Early anesthetics, ETHERS; 127. Like some Swift writing, IRONIC; 128. Electra’s brother, ORESTES; 129. Twos, DEUCES; 130. SENECA Falls, N.Y.

Down: “Yipe!”, GOSH; 2. Jellied dish, ASPIC; 3. Extended operatic solo, SCENA; 4. Quarter back, BALD EAGLE; 5. Onetime HBO sitcom, ARLISS; 6. Prime meridian std., GST; 7. Deliverers of the unreturnable, ACERS; 8. Hess who was a dame, MYRA; 9. Cue, PROMPT; 10. Airline to Stockholm, SAS; 11. Digs up, UNEARTHS; 12. Propose, POSIT; 13. Mustachioed TV muckraker, GERALDO; 14. Plastic ONO Band; 15. Suffix with form, ULA; 16. Perennial N.L. leader of old, AARON; 17. Sharing a memo with CCING; 18. For this reason, HENCE; 19. Lawn gadget, EDGER; 24. 1980s street artist Keith HARING; 29. Spot, DAPPLE; 32. AT AN impasse; 34. Dobbin’s nibble, OAT; 35. “Dear old” guy, DAD; 36. ASST mgr.; 38. Batting coach’s concern, STANCE; 40. One with a handle, CBER; 41. “Damn Yankees” vamp, LOLA; 42. Too suave, OILY; 44. Without A PEEP (quietly); 46. Series finale?, ETC; 47. What a bee produces, QUILT; 48. “Superman II” villainess, URSA; 49. Some, A BIT; 50. Favor cloyingly, with “on”, DOTE; 52. Just for laughs, IN FUN; 53. Many a New Year’s resolution, DIET; 58. Pulls, DRAGS; 50. 1977 thriller co-starring Bo Derek, ORCA; 61. “The Odd Couple” director, SAKS; 65. Some legal scholars, for short, LLDS; 66. “The Time Machine” race, ELOI; 68. Co-founder of the Nonaligned Movement, NEHRU; 69. Fastidious, FUSSY; 70. Lane in Metropolis, LOIS; 71. Postrevolutionary councils, JUNTAS; 72. Language akin to Yupik, ALEUT; 73. A Walton, ERIN; 74. Singer Lovett, LYLE; 75. “What’s New Pussycat?” response?, MEOW; 77. Poop, INFO; 78. Comics canine, ODIE; 79. End of some firm names, SONS; 82. 2005 Hoffman title role, CAPOTE; 83. Winter Olympics powerhouse: Abbr., SWE; 86. Summer at a ski resort, e.g., OFF SEASON; 88. Taj Mahal, e.g., TOMB; 90. Bleach, ETIOLATE; 92. One of the original Mouseketeers, DOREEN; 93. PINA cloth (lingerie fabric); 96. 1983 Duran Duran hit, RIO; 96. China shop personae non gratae, KLUTZES; 97. Orlando-to-Ft. Myers dir., SSW; 102. Shortly, IN A SEC; 104. Attraction, ALLURE; 105. Literature Nobelist Neruda, PABLO; 106. “ … in A PEAR tree”; 107. Audacity, NERVE; 108. Bizet suite “The Girl From ARLES”; 109. Attached, in a way, TAPED; 110. Chaff, DROSS; 111. River straddled by Basel, Switzerland, RHINE; 112. Impassive, STOIC; 118. Homeland plot?, ACRE; 118. Cuzco inhabitant, INCA; 120. N.Y.C. subway line, IRT; 121. A wee hour, ONE; 123. Moo SHU pork; 124. Hi-FIS.

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