11.04.10 — HOLE




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Thursday, November 4, 2010

Puzzle by Mike Nothnagel, edited by Will Shortz

NINE [HOLE]S (63A. Quick outing for Tiger Woods … or what the completed puzzle contains), e.g., nine squares containing the word HOLE, or the image of one (or perhaps stab nine holes in the newspaper with one's writing implement) constitutes the interrelated group of this wholly clever Thursday crossword.

  • 1A: [HOLE]PUNCH (Office device appropriate for this puzzle?) / 1D: [HOLE] CARD (Game item usually seen upside-down)
  • 21A: POT [HOLE]S (Road hazards) / 7D: PIN[HOLE]S (Features of homemade cameras)
  • 23A: POST [HOLE] (Fence builder's starting point) / 13D: AIR [HOLE] (Seal's opening?)
  • 44A: [HOLE]-IN-ONE (End of a perfect Sunday drive?) / 31D: RAT [HOLE] (Filthy place)
  • 39A: LOOP[HOLE] (Way to get around something) / 26D: FOX[HOLE] (Below-ground sanctuary)
  • 43A: KNEE [HOLE] (Space under a desk) / 30D: EAR[HOLE]
  • 64A: F-[HOLE]S (Violin cutouts) / 54D: ARM [HOLE] (Vest feature)
  • 65A: SPY [HOLE] (What a peeper uses to peep) / 49D: SINK [HOLE] (Topographical feature formed by underground erosion)
  • 63A: NINE [HOLE]S / 51D: EYE [HOLE]S (Parts of masks)

Other — ACTS NAÏVE (11D. Feigns ignorance), CLIPPER (5D. The Cutty Sark, for one), DIANA ROSS / SUPREMES (33D. and 49A. 33-Down’s group, with “the”), DRAPERY (10D. Window dressing), DROPPERS (24A. Small doses may come in them), IRONED ON (57A. Like some patches), KIRSTIE (43D. Alley behind a bar on TV?), NO MATTER (18A. “That’s of little importance”), SNORERS (42D. Ones who sleep soundly?).

Mid-size — ATTLEE (59A. 1940s British P.M.), AYE SIR, CASTLE, DETEST, HEROES, MR LEE (50D. 1957 hit for the Bobbettes), NIELS, OPAQUE, ORNATE, PARER and PAYER, PROXY, RADAR, “Thou SEEST I have more flesh than another man“: Falstaff, SIDE A, TRIPOD, UPLAND, USE TO.

Short stuff— AAA, AMBI, AMIS and AMS, ASET, AXON, CSI, DESI, DIP, EGOS, FERN (26A. “Charlotte‘s Web“ girl), IGOR, IRA, LIEN, NOM, NOSY (55D. Like a quidnunc), NTS, ONZE, OVER, OXEN, PEND, PIAF (53D. Role for which Marion Cotillard won a 2007 Best Actress Oscar), QUIZ, RET, RISK, ROE and RYE, TBA, TNT, TORN, TREE.

A round man cannot be expected to fit in a square hole right away.
He must have time to modify his shape. ~ Mark Twain

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Click on image to enlarge.

Puzzle available on the internet at
THE NEW YORK TIMES — Crossword Puzzles and Games.
Remaining clues — ACROSS: 7. Await; 11. Rte. Suggested; 14. Setting for many a fairy tale; 15. Assistant played by Charles Bronson in “House of Wax”; 16. Drama set in Las Vegas; 17. Command agreement; 20. Out of service?: Abbr.; 27. One half of an old comedy duo; 28. Like the Paris Opera; 31. Airport need; 34. Substitute; 37. I.R.S. 1040 line item; 38. They might give each French kisses; 40. No longer interested in; 41. Undecided: Abbr.; 42. Album half; 46. Grill; 48. Impulse path; 53. Kitchen tool; 55. Physicist Bohr; 56. Jim Beam product; 61. Times in classifieds; 62. Game played on a world map; 66. Can’t stand. — DOWN: 2. Check writer; 3. Is of ___ (helps); 4. Some Windows systems; 6. Lifesavers, say; 8. Big ones can impede progress; 9. Montreal or Quebec; 12. Play ___ (perform some songs); 19. Conflicted; 22. Photography aid; 25. Portable info-storing devices; 29. Almond or pecan; 32. Prefix with valent; 35. Pre-schoolers?; 36. Light-blocking; 40. French eleven; 45. They’re drafted for service; 47. Higher ground; 58. Feature of many a ballroom dance; 60. “We Know Drama” channel.

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