01.19.10 -- The Name of the Game

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Puzzle by Zoe Wheeler, edited by Will Shortz

NAME OF THE GAME (35A. Essential part necessary for fulfilling a goal … or what 17-, 25-, 48- and 57-Across all have?), along with BOAR, DEER, HARE and QUAIL in circles are the interrelated group of this Tuesday crossword. The circled letters are contained in the wildly divergent entries of BINOCULARS (17A. Bird watcher’s accessory), DETERGENT (25A. Tide or Cheer), HEARTBEAT (48A. Symbol of life) and QUESADILLA (57A. Cheesy Mexican snack).

STAGE MOM (11D. Young starlet’s promoter, maybe) makes her third appearance in a week, clued last Tuesday as “Parent in the wings, perhaps” and Saturday as “One very concerned with how a kid acts” -- if she keeps it up, she could be banned from the set! Joining her in the eight-letter group are ATTAINED (36D. Got), NOMINATE (12D. Propose for election) and NOSE-DIVE (35D. Plummet).

SMUSHES SCARABS (44A. Compresses, informally; 28A. Beetles sacred to ancient Egyptians) conjures up a rather messy image among the seven-letter assemblage, which includes the vibrant BAHA MEN (39D. “Who Let the Dogs Out” group) with the hounds to hunt the game, and SEATTLE (13D. Where Starbucks was founded), a reasonable reason that that metropolis is sleepless.

Six-letter -- AT BATS (1D. Baseball statistics); BIOLAB (29D. Place for a petri dish); CREASE (18D. Ironing line); 2D. “Everyone’s a CRITIC”; 46D. ESALEN Institute, California retreat center for alternative education); ESTEEM (27D. High regard); GAUGED (38D. Measured); HELL NO (45D. “Absolutely not!”); MAÑANA (3D. Procrastinator’s response); SEDATE (47D. Tranquilize); SOLIDS (6D. Sphere and cube); STASIS (44D. Equilibrium).

Five -- ADIOS (52A. “So long”); AREAS (50D. Neighborhoods); AS PER (5A. According to); BRAIN (61A. Smarty); CAUSE (34D. Save the Whales, for one); DIGIT (22A. 2, for one); DOLED (15A. Handed [out]); GEESE (51A. Ones in a gaggle); GRAMS (24D. There are about 28.35 of these in an ounce); PLANE (7D. Smoothing tool); ROILS (49D. Stirs); SISSY (64A. Wuss); SO BIG (10D. Edna Ferber novel); TINGE (23A. Trace of color).

Short stuff -- ACME, ACT, ADUE, ANET, ASI and AST, ATA and ATM, BAMA, BOTS, COTE, DRE, EAU, EER, EMO, ESE, EVEL, FAZE and RAZE, IAN, LAD and LAM and MAL, MINI, NEDS, NONE, OTOE, PAZ, PTS, QBS, RDS, REIN, SSNS, TECH, TRAM, ZANY (54D. Wacky).

Click on image to enlarge.

Puzzle available on the internet at

THE NEW YORK TIMES -- Crossword Puzzles and Games.

If you subscribe to home delivery of The New York Times you are eligible to access the daily crossword via The New York Times - Times Reader, without additional charge, as part of your home delivery.

Remaining clues -- ACROSS: 1. #1 position; 10. I.R.S. figures: Abbr.; 14. Coal cart; 16. First Indian tribe met by Lewis and Clark; 19. The Crimson Tide, familiarly; 20. Week- ___-glance calendar; 21. What a coach driver holds; 30. Language suffix; 31. Prefix with content; 32. “___ recall …”; 33. One of five in “Julius Caesar”; 34. ___ d’Ivoire (African land); 39. Droids; 40. Flee; 41. ___ de Cologne; 42. Winter hrs. in Bermuda; 43. Peace, in Peru; 53. Demolish; 55. Young fellow; 56. Certain iPod or skirt; 60. Knievel on a motorcycle; 62. Working without ___; 63. Actor Beatty and others; 65. What a jack-of-all-trades is master of, supposedly. DOWN: 4. Rock music subcategory; 5. Together, on musical scores; 8. Suffix with election; 9. Things with shoulders: Abbr.; 22. Rap’s Dr. ___; 26. Georgia ___; 33. Sign at a convenience store; 37. Disconcert; 43. Score components: Abbr.; 57. Ones making handoffs, for short; 58. Geller with supposed psychic powers; 59. McEwan or McKellen.