"The Cremation of Shelley" (16 August 1822) from a painting by Louis-Edward Fournier [Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool]
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Saturday, March 20, 2010 — Vernal Equinox
Puzzle by Joe Krozel, edited by Will Shortz
A quadrupuzzle… can’t say that I’m a fan of the genre, they remind me of airplane magazine crosswords for some reason. Four small puzzles joined by a square of letters in the center which can anagram unintentionally to ADD TO SEE (well?) — or DO TEASE, DEAD TOES, SEE TO DAD, etc. (Silly, right? O.K., I got bored!) — too bad it’s not SAD TO SEE, which these four-in-one crosswords are, to boot (NO LESS) on a Saturday! However, since the little connecting square echoes DESDE above, it's a near combo anagram/onomatopœia or something. Rife with E’s and S’s due to each little puzzle’s general 6wordx6word format, the crossword possesses more than a few mysterious clues —
Puzzle 1 (Upper Left) — Across: 1. To boot, NO LESS; 13. Worked up, IN A STIR; 16. Made unbearable?, NEUTERED; 19. Like 1-Down, JAPANESE; 21. Options for thinning, ACETONES; 23. Like part of a foot, STRESSED; and the tag-along 25. Lonely, DESERTED. — Down: 1. Stealthy fighters, NINJAS; 2. Like Edward Albee’s first five plays, ONE-ACT; 3. 1984 Best New Artist Grammy winner, LAUPER, make that 1985 and I’ll go for it; 4. One taken care of by a caretaker, ESTATE; 5. Attendees at some biz meetings, STENOS; 6. Speeders’ dreads, SIRENS; 14. Fixed some greens, RESEEDED; 17. Since: Sp. DESDE.
Puzzle 2 (Upper Right) — Across: 7. Big impression, SPLASH; 15. Photons, e.g., QUANTA; 18. Writing style of old Latin manuscripts, UNCIAL; 20. Rare battery varieties, A-CELLS; 22. Harsh-sounding bird that immobilize its prey by impalement, SHRIKE; 24. 1995 Literature Nobelist, HEANEY; and 31 Jerks, ASSES. — Down: 7. Ends abruptly, SQUASHES; 8. Pugilists … or stationery store items, PUNCHERS; 9. Tear, LACERATE; 10. Compounds that smell of rotting fish, ANILINES; 11. Didn’t just follow around, STALKED; 12. Vice admiral on the U.S.S. Enterprise, HALSEY.
Puzzle 3 (Lower Left) — Across: 27. Limerick neighbor, CLARE; 32. Had a prior link with, TRACED TO; 34. Some imposing museum displays, briefly, TREXES; 42. Outfit for a new voyage, say, REMAST; 44. Explosive stuff, AMATOL; 46. Cathedral candle, VOTIVE; 48. People taking les examens, ÉLÈVES; 50. Ties don’t have them, LOSERS. — Down: 27. Burns up, CREMATES; 28. Feen-a-mint was one, LAXATIVE; 29. Certain full house, in poker lingo, ACES OVER; 30. Always moving, RESTLESS; 32. Mandolin effect, TREMOLO; 34. Job requirement, often, TRAVEL.
Puzzle 4 (Lower Right) — Across: 35. Place for many a shot, UPPER ARM; 43. Ogled, LEERED AT; 45. “Sure thing!”, I’D LOVE TO; 47. Events with marching bands?, PROTESTS; 49. Heroin and the like, OPIATES; 51. Eye muscles attach to it, SCLERA. — Down: 26. Glorified gatekeeper, in Goiás, SAO PEDRO; 33. White item in a 1944 Matisse painting, TULIP; 36. He was served to the Olympians as food, PELOPS; 37. More than suggestive, EROTIC; 38. Leak, REVEAL; 39. Noel opener, ADESTE; 40. Certain cat or dog, RATTER; 41. It’s S. of the Vale of Tempe, MT OSSA.
Here’s a reprise for 11-Down…
Click on image to enlarge.
Puzzle available on the internet at
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