01.12.10 -- Ahcheu!




BOOTY MARK (64A. X, to a pirate?)

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Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Puzzle by Patrick Blindauer and Rebecca Young, edited by Will Shortz

There’s no shortage of puzzling humor thus far this week -- in this Tuesday crossword there's the shared sound of the spellings of u, eu, ue, and eau in cutie pie, family feud, fossil fuel and beauty mark replaced with a double-o in COOTIE PIE (17A. Germy dessert, to a five-year-old?), FAMILY FOOD (30A. Grub consumed around the dinner table?), FOSSIL FOOL (46A. One who’s daft about archaeology?) and BOOTY MARK (64A. X, to a pirate?). What else? Oh… a spelling I’ve never seen in a crossword before, AHCHOO (52A. Sound before a blessing), a variation of ACHOO -- so what's next?  Ahcheu!


There are four eight-letter entries -- BROILERS (3D. Young chickens suitable for dinner), EATS AWAY (4D. Erodes), SERENADE (40D. Play to the balcony?) and STAGE MOM (39D. Parent in the wings, perhaps).

Other six-letter entries include AMECHE (26A. Best Supporting Actor for “Cocoon”), ASTERS (45A. October blooms), BRONCO (11D. Rodeo horse), FAT CAT (46D. Influential moneybags), OH SURE (47D. “And I’m the queen of England”), OPPOSE 50D. Stand against), PAPAYA (6D. Mango alternative), RELIEF (10D. Help from a bullpen), SHREWD (49D. Cunning), SNARED (13D. Caught in a trap) and YO HO HO (12D. Start of a pirate’s chant).

Five-letter -- AKISS (20A. Part of S.W.A.K.); ALOHA (19A. “Hello, Don Ho!“); ARBYS (9A. Restaurant chain whose logo features a western hat); 66A. “ARE WE having fun yet?”; ASSET (38A. It might be fixed or frozen); CASIO (34D. Tokyo-based synthesizer maker); CURED (62A. No longer sick); EASYA (36A. No-brainer in school); HERON (16A. Long-legged fisher); LARRY (24A. Bird known for making baskets); MAMBO (31D. “West Side Story” shout during “The Dance at the Gym”); MYNAS (27D. Mocking birds?); PAIGE (53A. Pitcher Satchel); TEDDY (69A. Good name for a lingerie salesman?); 59A. Twenty : English :: VENTI : Italian.


Short stuff -- ABBA and ABE, AFEW, AHA and ALA, AMEN, APE and APEX, APPT, ARES, ARGO, BASE, CLOG, DEY, ERG, FAA, GASP, IKEA, INOR, LOBE, LOCA, MEGA, OAF, ODIE, OKRA and OKOK, OMS, PAAR and PAIR, RFK, SALE, SCAB, SOAP, TEX, TREE, TRIG, TSAR and TSO.





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Puzzle available on the internet at

THE NEW YORK TIMES -- Crossword Puzzles and Games.

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Remaining clues -- ACROSS: 1. Ear part; 5. Date with an M.D.; 14. Gumbo vegetable; 15. Carson predecessor; 21. Greek god of war; 23. “Are you ___ or out?”; 28. Not many; 35. Prayer’s end; 37. Meditation syllables; 43. Picket line crosser; 51. Cornstarch brand; 55. Peter the Great, for one; 56. [Oh, my stars!]; 67. Hard-core followers, in politics; 68. “Garfield” canine; 70. Zenith; 71. Prefix with phone. DOWN; 1. “Livin’ la Vida ___”; 2. “Enough already!”; 5. Monkey’s uncle?; 7. Ark unit; 8. Genealogy chart; 9. Cry of discovery; 18. Mideast land since 1948: Abbr.; 22. “Dollar days” event; 25. ___ Bridge, connecting Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx; 28. Prez on a penny; 29. Air safety grp.; 32. Sends an OMG or LOL, say; 37. Big galoot; 41. Bit of energy; 42. General on Chinese menus; 44. Drano target; 45. One of the eight states bordering Tenn.; 54. It climbs the walls; 57. Pop group whose name is coincidentally a rhyme scheme; 58. Ivory, e.g.; 60. Math subj. with many functions; 61. Big furniture retailer; 63. Susan of “L.A. Law”; 65. Many a cowpoke’s handle.



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