02.17.11 — A Piece of WAR

Alien tripod illustration by Alvim Corréa,

from the 1906 French edition of H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds".

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Thursday, February 17, 2011

Puzzle by Mike Nothnagel, edited by Will Shortz

Handsome reward, game wardens, buyer beware, arrest warrants, Academy Award and flash forward are implied in six answers by WAR (33A. What’s broken out of the answers to the starred clues?), not incidentally crossing PEACE (40A. Opposite of 33-Down) in the center of the puzzle.

HANDSOME RED (18A. *Photogenic athlete from Cincinnati?)
GAME DENS (22A. *Cozy rooms for playing?)
BUYER BEE (56A. *Social gathering for auction participants?)
ARREST RANTS (61A. *Diatribes from captured criminals?)
ACADEMY AD (3D. *Commercial for a private school?)
FLASH FORD (35D. *Expose oneself to a former U.S. president?)

Other — ASHLAND (4D. Henry Clay’s historic Kentucky estate), COME NOW (27A. “You must be joking …“), ELAPSED (46D. Passed), EXACTOR (23A. Tax collector, e.g.), ONE A / DAY (28D. With 70-Across, vitamin bottle phrase), PRETEENS (39D. Much of Nickelodeon’s target audience), TALKS ON (50A. 50A. Yaps), THE DOORS (10D. “Hello, I Love You” band, 1968) and THE WASH (54A. What dirt may come out in).

Mid-size — AND GO, ARMADA, AVERS and AYRES, CARFAX, CORPSE, CURIO, DISARM, ENROBE, HEART (55D. Gift from the Wizard of Oz that’s really a clock), ICE SAW, MEDAL, MENSA, NOT BAD, OVENS, PUFFS, SEEN IT, STERNO, TIRED.

Short stuff — AERO, AKA, “ANY hope?”, ARI, Mr. ATOM, radioactive enemy of Captain Marvel; ATOM, AXE, BALM and CALM, BTEN, CATE and CITE, DREW, FLEA (59D. Pet peeve?), LEAP, HIC, HIKE and HIVE, KSU, LEAP, LIEN, MEN, MISO and MOSS, NOB, NODS, OLÉ, PEDS, REA and REX, RISE, SEXY, SLED, TBA, T-TOP, TWEE, WHA and WHAM, X’D IN.

I have never advocated war except as a means of peace. ~ Ulysses S. Grant

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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: 1. “Huh …?!”; 4. Fleet; 10. Muscle car feature; 14. What this would be to Caesar?; 15. Jaded response to a movie suggestion; 16. Hive container; 17. Wanted poster abbr.; 20. Ceremonial presentation; 23. Tax collector, e.g.; 26. Drifts (off); 29. Food made fermented beans; 32. Drafted, with “up”; 34. Company concerned with automobile history; 38. Spring; 42. Bob, e.g.; 43. Indian city now known as Chennai; 45. Mount; 47. NPR’s Shapiro; 48. Days before; 42. Actress Blanchett; 58. Drags; 64. Stadium cheer; 65. Bank holding; 66. Get into a habit?; 67. Andy’s dinosaur in “Toy Story”; 68. Shade of green; 69. “I’m impressed”. — DOWN: 1. Pow!; 2. Shout before a snap; 5. “The End of the Affair” actor, 1999; 6. Playing pieces; 7. “Start … now!”; 8. Neutralize, as a bomb; 11. Shopworn; 12. Kitchen window sites; 13. Walkers, in brief; 19. Organization that sponsors an annual Mind Games competition; 21. Let go; 24. Halloween costume, maybe; 25. Cutesy, in London; 27. Like Type B personalities; 30. Winter fishing tool; 36. Prefix with -naut; 37. Marked, as a questionnaire box; 41. Reference; 46. Caterer’s supply; 51. The Wildcats of the N.C.A.A.; 52. ___ cabinet; 53. 1948 Best Actor nominee for “Johnny Belinda”; 56. Lip ___; 57. Classic Army bomber plane; 60. Hot; 62. San Francisco’s ___ Hill; 63. Not yet determined: Abbr.