11.17.10 — More or Less

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Puzzle by Robert W. Harris, edited by Will Shortz

Five two-word phrases are changed into five different two word phrases by removing the first letter of each word (said letters are in highlighted squares) constituting the interrelated group of this Wednesday crossword — BROAD SMILES or ROAD MILES (17A. Signs of elation → marathon), BAD OMEN or AD MEN (25A. Sign of trouble → commercial writers), HAIR BRAID or AIR RAID (37A Pigtail → cause for a siren), POP TART or OP ART (52A. Toaster food → dazzling designs) and HEARTH STONE or EARTH TONE (62A. Fireplace part → fall color).

Other — ASSUMED (11D. Like an alias), ESTONIA (45D. Where Skype was invented), IRON AGE (3D. First millenium B.C., roughly), LIONESS (12D. Disney’s Nala, for one, PUP TENT (41D. Soldier’s shelter), RAREBIT (2D. Cheesy dish), SNORTED (40D. Showed contempt for something), YEAR ONE (44D. The start of time).

Mid-size — ABASED, AD LIB, ARCANA (13D. Deep secrets), BEADS, DRIEST, EL PASO, GET-UP, LARDER, LEGATO, OSCARS (66A. Katharine Hepburn’s foursome), SEESAW, SHASTA (33D. Cascade Range peak), STYLET, TABLE, TOLEDO (22A. El Greco‘s city), TRACY, UNUSED, UPSIDE.

Short stuff — AARE, ALA, Satyajit Ray’s “The APU Trilogy”, ARAL, ASEA, AWOL, AXIS, BLEW and BREW, CAB and CARB and CRIB, DALI (25A. Painter of dreamscapes), DEN, DESI and DOES, EDT, ELS, ENDO, ESO and EST, ETRE, EWOK, HOS and HST, “Dies IRAE“, ITE, KEN, LAMA, LEDS, NERO, ORS, OYEZ, PEAT, PIG, PRIX fixe, SAAB, SECT, SIR, SOC, SPAS, SRTA, TUNA, États-UNIS, UTES, ZOO (46D. Wild scene).

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Puzzle available on the internet at

THE NEW YORK TIMES — Crossword Puzzles and Games.

Remaining clues — ACROSS: 1. Home, slangily; 5. Rio Grande city; 11. In the manner of; 14. Rhein tributary; 15. Food storage area; 16. Mick Jagger’s title; 19. Liberal arts maj.; 20. Prefix with skeleton; 21. Italy’s side, once; 22. Melt ingredient; 23. Put down; 27. Greedy sort; 28. Certain offshoot; 31. Lech of Poland’s Solidarity; 32. Beehive State Indians; 34. “Born from jets” automaker; 36. Watch readouts, for short; 40. Hydrotherapy sites; 42. Squandered, as a lead; 43 Courtroom attention-getter; 47. Like some phone minutes; 49. Furry sci-fi creature; 51. That, in Tijuana; 54. Smoothly, on a score; 56. Spanish counterpart of a mlle.; 60. Rotund Wolfe; 61. Ore suffix; 65. TV spot, often; 68. What a farmer in Del. Works on?; 69. Surgeon’s probe; 70. Bog product. DOWN: 1. Locomotive part; 4. Worrier’s handful; 5. Chi-town rails; 6. Holy man in an Ogden Nash verse; 8. Forgo the script; 9. Plaything for two; 10. Places for scrubs, for short; 18. Performs; 24. First name in ‘50s TV comedy; 29. Prepare for a marathon, say, with “up”; 30. Set aside; 35. Make stout; 38. On the ocean blue; 39. A.F.B. truant; 47. Positive aspect; 48. Having the least vermouth; 50. Ranges of knowledge; 53. Comics character with a wrist radio; 55. Fancy duds; 58. Asia’s ___ Sea; 59. To be, to Brigitte; 62. Jolly sounds; 63. Prez who said “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen”; 64. Ballpark fig.