03.31.11 — Pitch!

Kenny Rogers, Kenny Rogers, Dave Stewart, Dave Stewart, Eddie Fisher, Eddie Fisher, Brian Wilson and Brian Wilson

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Thursday, March 31, 2011

Puzzle by Jeremy Horwitz and Tyler Hinman / Edited by Will Shortz

PERFECT PITCH (19D. Something the eight people at 3-, 9-, 28- ad 30-Down have all strived for?); 3D. Yankees hurler (1996 champs) / Solo singer of “Lady” (#1 in 1980), KENNY ROGERS; 9D. A’ s hurler (1989 champs) / Eurythmics musician on “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” (#1 in 1983), DAVE STEWART; 28D. Orioles hurler (1966 champs) / Solo crooner of “Oh! My Pa-Pa (#1 in 1954), EDDIE FISHER; and 30D. Giants hurler (2010 champs) / Beach Boys vocalist on “Help Me, Rhonda” (#1 in 1965), BRIAN WILSON are the interrelated group of this Thursday crossword on the day the baseball season begins and songs of the past may be remembered.

Other — AIR KISS (24A. Distant sign of affection?), ALL HERE (66A. “Everything’s accounted for”), COLE SLAW (60A. Barbecue side), IN A COMA (16A. Totally out), ISOLATE (48D. Keep from spreading), LATERAL (69A. Nonforward pass), PEDICAB (7A. Way around Shanghai), RISOTTO (52A. Creamy dish), SLIP COVERED (18A. Saved, as a seat?), TAI CHI CHUAN (62A. Dojo discipline), TEN STONE (20A. 140 pounds, in Britain), UNLOADS (5D. Vents).

Mid-size — ABOVE, AGAVE, ARENA, AT ODDS, BLINI, ELLIS, ERASE, EVITE, GOODS, ICED, IRONED, LINEN, MAUDE, MINED, RICHE, RIGID, SAUDI, SWEET, TIVOS, TOUGH (53D. Grisly).

Short stuff — AMES, ARCO, ASS, BADE, BAM, CEL, CHAW, CORA, DIMS, EARP, ECCE, ELK, ENO and ENOS, ENYA, ETAL, EVE, FOCI, FONT, GTO, HES, INCA, INN and ION, IRA, ITAT, KOCH, LALA, LILT, NET, NOR, ODE, PIC, PSST, PUB, RBI, RUED, SNL, STOW, SUE, TAOS, VIE.

Read "Meet 30-Down: Wilson Is Answer for the Giants" in the New York Times today, March 31, 2011, HERE.

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Puzzle available on the internet at

THE NEW YORK TIMES — Crossword Puzzles and Games.

Remaining clues — ACROSS: 1. Animal on the Michigan flag; 4. Crawl space?; 14. Parisian life; 15. Weekly show starting at 11:30 p.m. E.T.; 17. Longfellow’s “Tales of a Wayside ___”; 22. Clear; 23. “May It be” singer, 2001; 27. Wished undone; 29. Garamond, e.g.; 30. “Wham ___!”; 33. Fighting; 35. ___ signum (look at the proof: Lat.); 36. One-third of a baseball’s Triple Crown, for short; 37. Uncompromising; 38. It’s a mouthful; 39. + or - thing; 40. Garden lady; 41. Leave ___ that; 44. Tequila source; 46. Scand. Land; 47. 1994 Costner title role; 48. Made flatter; 49. Dummy; 50. Two key points on an ellipse’s major major axis; 51. Stash; 57. “Les Than Zero” novelist; 65. Go after; 67. Car co-created and named by John DeLorean; 68. Dedicated work; 70. “For ___ a ..”; 71. Capture. — DOWN: 1. Modern party aid; 2. One might sleep on it; 4. Hushed “Hey!”; 6. Some pancakes; 7. It’s a snap; 8. Roxy Music co-founder; 10. They finish cakes; 11. Mrs. Dithers of the comics; 12. Midwest college town; 13. Ordered; ; 21. Meccan, e.g.; 25. Mayor who later served as judge on “The People’s Court”; 26. Member of a mountain empire; 31. Topping; 32. Got out of the ground; 33. Ring holder; 34. Records, in a way; 42. New Mexico’s ___ Ski Valley; 43. BP subsidiary; 45. Get the ___ on; 52. Affluent, in Arles; 1970s sitcom that ended with the title character in Congress; 56. “Ni-i-ice!; 57. Listing abbr.; 58. Singsong syllables; 59. Cheerful tune; 61. Book in the Book of Mormon; 63. S&L holding; 64. Funny frame.

03.30.11 — Redshift

Artist's impression of a binary star system consisting of a black hole and a red giant star. A binary star system has two sets of spectral lines that are alternately red and blue shifted. This indicates that while one star is traveling away from Earth (redshift), the other is coming toward it (blueshift), Photo Researchers, Inc.

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Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Puzzle by Erik Wennstrom / Edited by Will Shortz

REDSHIFTED (47A. Like light from stars moving away from us … or like the answers to this puzzle’s starred clues?), whitewashed + red = PINK WASHED (29A. *Like a baby girl’s laundry?); blueprint + red = PURPLE PRINT (11D. *Newspapers read by royalty?); and yellow fever + red = ORANGE FEVER (25D. *Illness caused by eating Cheetos?) comprise the interrelated group of this elusive but illuminating Wednesday crossword.

Other — ANGEL HAIR (10D. Pasta variety), DEACON (33D. Priest’s assistant), DEODORIZE (35D. Freshen), DUST-UP (49D. Quarrel), DVORAK (23A. Typewriter keyboard format), ERASURE (20A. What a smudge may indicate), HAPPEN (48D. Come to pass), IN BETA (9D. Still being tested), “MUST’NT touch!“, PICASSO (56A. He had a Blue Period), T-STRAP (5D. Feature of some sandals), VALOUR (24D. Bravery, in Britain).

Five-letter — “Sealed With A KISS”, CAPES, DAUNT, DOGGY, EMMAS, Stevie Wonder’s “Songs in the KEY OF Life“, NUTRI-Grain cereal bars, PYREX, QUEST, SANER, SEEMS, SNORT, SOOTY, STYES, TOMAS de Torquemada, Spanish inquisitor, UTICA, WREST, YUGOS (43A. Often-mocked cars of the past).

Short stuff — ACE, ALPS, ALSO, AMER, APSE, CLOG, DOUR, ECRU, EGOS, ELKS, EMU and UMA, EPPS, ESC, FORA (51A. Opportunities for discussion), GLAD, GONE, GROK, GRUB, IAGO, ICON, IRAN, JEDI, JIGS, LEVI, “ A MERE technicality!”, MIR, NOGO, NOR, NULL, OAR, PALL, PREZ, QED, ROSE (45A. Jack’s love in “Titanic”), RICO, Tenor SAX, SERE and SUER, SLOP, SSR, TELL (26A. Bluffer‘s undoing, in poker).

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Puzzle available on the internet at

THE NEW YORK TIMES — Crossword Puzzles and Games.

Remaining clues — ACROSS: 1. Pursuit of a goal; 6. Yoda, for one; 1. Altar locale; 14. Thompson and Watson; 15. Two eighth notes, for iTunes, e.g.; 16. Empty, in math; 17. Cause to cower; 18. Oater fare; 19. Understand, slangily; 22. What a smudge may indicate; 22. Foreman portrayer on “house”; 28. Use one’s scull; 34. Bag brand; 36. One going before a judge; 37. Corrida wear; 39. Done for; 40. Eye problems; 42. Theocratic state; 46. Possessing many pesos; 50. Confirm-deny link; 54. Vista part: Abbr.; 60. Dolly the matchmaker; 61. Grow wearisome; 66. Abe or Ike; 67. They may clash; 68. City on the Mohawk; 69. Like the Atacama; 70. Scrubbed, as a mission; 71. Material for a baking dish. DOWN: “And that proves it”; 2. Thurman of “Pulp Fiction” 3. Creature on Australia’s 50-cent coin; 4. Not so off the wall; 6. Happy people dance them; 7. Color of raw silk; 8. Ill-humored; 12. Not stay in the bucket, say; 13. Some lodge members; 23. Canine, to a tot; 27. Key near F1; 32. Take forcibly; 38. Bull pen sound; 41. Comes across as; 44. Ukr., e.g., until 1991; 53. Like a chimney sweep; 54. Matterhorn’s locale; 57. “Aladdin” parrot; 58. Pipe problem; 59. Moreover; 63 Atlantis docked with it; 64. Sleuth Ventura.

03.29.11 — Beauty

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Puzzle by Peter A. Collins / Edited by Will Shortz

ELIZABETH / TAYLOR (55A. With 17-Across, late Hollywood star), CLEOPATRA (21A. 1963 title role for 55-/17-Across), THE SANDPIPER (27A. 1965 film starring 55-/17-Across), BUTTERFIELD 8 (45A. 1960 film for which 55-/17-Across won a Best Actress Oscar), 61A. “Suddenly, Last SUMMER” (1959 film starring 55-/17-Across), VELVET (4D. 1944 title role for 55-/17-Across) and 8 TIMES (49D. How often 55-/17-Across was married) are the interrelated group of this fine Tuesday memorial crossword. The New York Times obituary, HERE. A video tribute HERE.

Other — ACUTE PAIN (11D. Migraine, e.g.), METAZOAN (37D. Multicellular animal), NANETTE (23A. “No, No” girl of Broadway), TEST OUT (51A. Put through the paces), WOMANIZE (10D. Philander), VENTRICLE (33D. Piece of one’s heart).

Mid-size — ALIBI, ARREST, ARYAN, ASTERN, CESAR, FRESCO (48A. “The Last Supper,” for one), LASSOS, NO GOOD, OLMOS, ONE-ONE, RARER, REBELS, ROONE, SAT ON, SEINE, STAVES, TARES, TEETH, THEME, TRA LA, “USE NO hooks”.

Short stuff — ALE, ARNE, ATAB, ATV, BEAT, ELKO, ENNE, ERA, ESE and ESO, ETAL, HAN, HTML, ILSA, KOLA, LCD, LOCO, LOOP, MTG, MUIR, NED, OCTA, OLAV, OPEN, PARA, POP, REED, RIT, SOL and SOS, STDS, STIR and STR, TEDS, TET, THEE, THRU, TSO, UNA, WASP, ZANE.

She Walks In Beauty

by Lord Byron

She walks in beauty, like the night

Of cloudless climes and starry skies;

And all that's best of dark and bright

Meet in her aspect and her eyes:

Thus mellowed to that tender light

Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,

Had half impaired the nameless grace

Which waves in every raven tress,

Or softly lightens o'er her face;

Where thoughts serenely sweet express

How pure, how dear their dwelling place.

And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,

So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,

The smiles that win, the tints that glow,

But tell of days in goodness spent,

A mind at peace with all below,

A heart whose love is innocent!

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Puzzle available on the internet at

THE NEW YORK TIMES — Crossword Puzzles and Games.

Remaining clues — ACROSS: 1. Barrel supports; 7. ___ Solo of “Star Wars”; 10. Attic nester; 14. Stop; 15. General on a Chinese menu; 16. Two times tetra; 18. Appt., often; 19. Naturalist John; 20. One of five Norwegian kings; 26. TV’s “20/20” creator Arledge; 31. It can go over hill and dale, briefly; 34. List shortened; 35. Western author Grey; 36. English class assignment; 38. Slowing, in mus.; 40. Pon Neuf’s river; 41. “Rule, Britannia” composer; 42. Pooped; 44. Australian outlaw Kelly; 50. Harder to locate; 51. Put through the paces; 58. “Casablanca” role; 59. Mad; 60. Colo.-to-Ga. Direction; 63. Caffeine nut; 64. PC screen type; 65. Tied in a best-of-three series; 66 Ajar; 67. Message on the beach of aq remote island, maybe; 68. Gets ready to hogtie. — DOWN: 1. Squelched; 2. Merry refrain; 3. Early Indian invader; 5. That, to Tomas; 6. Bering, for one: Abbr.; 7. WWW code; 8. Toward the rudder; 9. Bum; 12. Paint can instruction; 13. Law office worker, for short; 21. César of the U.F.W.; 22. Sound of breaking a vacuum seal; 24. “Nearer, My God, to ___”; 25. Asian holiday; 28. Cover, so to speak; 29. Feminizing suffix; 30. Saxophonist’s need; 31. Run ___ (not pay as you go); 32. Word shortening on a traffic sign; 39 They may be brushed or bared; 40. Fed. Agencies may issue them; 43. Tavern offering; 46. Good fig. for Maddux or Martinez; 47. Protagonists in “Star Wars: 51. Actor Edward James ___; 54. Container weights; 55. Nevada city; 56. Heart of Chicago, with “the”; 57. Senators Kennedy and Stevens; 61. The sun, personified; 62. Italian article.

03.28.11 — Meat and Chips

Daniel in the Lion's Den by Peter Paul Rubens, c. 1615

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Monday, March 28, 2011

Puzzle by Robyn Weintraub / Edited by Will Short

CHIPS (69A. Things that 18-, 27-, 46- and 60-Across may have), OLD DISHES (18A. Much-used dinnerware), POKER TABLES (27A. Centers of casino action), BRITISH PUBS (46A. Places to drink and play darts) and SHOULDERS (60A. They’re shrugged) comprise the interrelated group of this amiable Monday crossword.

Other —ADORING (53A. Loving), ALAN / LADD (15A. With 8-Down “Shane” star), ATHLETIC (41D. Part of N.C.A.A.), AT RANDOM (39D. Haphazardly), DIVERGE (22A. Branch off), INDIRECT (9D. Not as the crow flies), RED MEAT (38A. Food thrown to lions), RENT FREE (5D. Like living with Mom and Dad, perhaps), STATURE (40A. Height).

Mid-size — AD HOC, BALBOA (48A. Spanish discoverer of the Pacific, 1513), BASES and BASKS, BESET, BRUIN, ERODE, EXILE, IS TOO, LASSIE, LOOFA, MAI TAI, MAVEN, OCHRE, OMEGA, PLENTY, REMAKE, RESEAT, TENOR, TOTAL, TOWER (1A. Pisa has a leaning one).

Short stuff — ABM, ACME (16A. Zenith), ALL, ANTI (57A. Prefix with disestablishmentarianism), ARAB, BOIL, BOOB, EDEN, ELMO, EROS, FEMA, GELS, GENE, IMAC, IVES, KIDD, KOFI, KOOP, MALI, MAO, MEAN, MESH, MTV, ONCE, ORAL, OXEN, PERU, RCA (61D. Zenith competitor), SCAN, SEN, SIR, STAG, STOP, TAMS, TEMP, TUTU, VEIL, WOVE (3D. Used a loom).

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Puzzle available on the internet at

THE NEW YORK TIMES — Crossword Puzzles and Games.

Remaining clues — ACROSS: 6. Landlocked African country; 10. Numbskull; 14. Wear away; 16. Zenith; 17. Expert; 20. More than sufficient; 23. Disaster preparedness org.; 26. Move to another location, as in a restaurant; 32. Force out of the country; 33. Apple computer; 34. Fawn’s father; 42. Control+Z on a PC; 43. Scottish caps; 45. Add up; 52. It may be lifted at a wedding; 55. 2001’s “Ocean’s Eleven” or 2010’s “The Karate Kid”; 63. Voice below alto; 64. Diplomat Annan; 65. Fairy tale starter; 66. Playground retort; 67. Copiers do it; 68. Black-hearted. — DOWN: 1. It may be measured in F. or C.; 2. Spoken; 4. Genesis garden; 6. China’s ___ Zedong; 7. Completely; 10. First, second, third and home; 11. Yellowish shade; 12. Alpha’s opposite; 13. Assail; 19. St. ___, place in a children’s rhyme; 21. “You ain’t seen nothing’ ___!”; 24. Tiki bar order; 25. Defensive weapon, for short; 27. Land conquered by Conquistadors; 28. Yoked pair; 29. English pirate captain; 30. Tickle Me ___; 31. TV collie; 34. “Freeze!”; 35. Ballerina’s skirt; 36. Bedouin, e.g.; 37. Dippity-do and others; 44. “Yo! ___ Raps”; 46. Heat to 212°; 47. Title for Walter Scott; 48. Lies in the sun; 49. Kind of committee 50. Natural scrubber; 51. Boston N.H.L.’er; 54. Chromosome part; 56. Fit together; 58. Surgeon general under Reagan; 59. Cupid, to the Greeks; 62. U.S. legislator with a six-yr. term.

03.27.11 — Proofiness — the Acrostic

Sunday, March 27, 2011

ACROSTIC, Puzzle by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon, edited by Will Shortz

This Sunday’s excellent acrostic draws a quotation from “Proofiness, The Dark Arts of Mathematical Deception” by Charles Seife, a thorough investigation into why so many of us find it so easy to believe things that are patently ridiculous, focusing on how others deceive us with numbers.

Human beings are notoriously susceptible to self-deception, and we find it hard to connect cause with effect. We see relationships that are not there. There's nothing deceptive about this. It's just human nature. ~ Edward Durney, amazon.com

The quotation: EACH ROLL OF THE DIE… IS TOTALLY UNRELATED TO… EVENTS THAT CAME BEFORE IT… . THERES NO PATTERN… YET OUR BRAINS SIMPLY REFUSE TO ACCEPT THIS FACT. THIS IS RANDUMBNESS: INSISTING THAT THERE IS ORDER WHERE THERE IS ONLY CHAOS.

The author’s name and the title of the work: CHARLES SEIFE, PROOFINESS

The defined words:

A. Venture made risky by the forces of chance, CRAPSHOOT
B. Statement deceptively omitting some of the information (hyph.), HALF-TRUTH
C. Accidental; unpredictable; like a gamble, ALEATORY
D. According to Nabokov, a word that should always be in quotes, REALITY
E. Yoga pose that makes a person look like a grasshopper, LOCUST
F. { }, in math (2 wds.), EMPTY SET
G. “SISTINE Madonna” (Raphael painting)
H. Small, hardy pony or sheepdog, SHELTIE
I. Firmly fixed and hard to change, as opinions, ENTRENCHED
J. Like some rafts and expense-account figures, INFLATED
K. Complimentary ticket, for example, FREEBIE
L. A choice with just two options, EITHER-OR
M. Chronic indulger in cannabis sativa, POTHEAD
N. Kind of dressing used on a Reuben, RUSSIAN
O. Mulishness, OBSTINACY
P. Deposed; routed, as a faulty theory, OVERTHROWN
Q. Constitution of some boas, FEATHERS
R. Started rapidly oxidizing, IGNITED
S. Containing element number 7, NITROUS
T. Dishes served between courses; fancy dessert pastries, ENTREMETS
U. Drag one’s feet; state of ruin, SHAMBLES
V. Conjectural; haphazard; involving probability, STOCHASTIC

The full paragraph of the quotation: Unfortunately, the randomness of the dice and of the slot machine ensure that there’s no reality to these patterns at all. Each roll of the die, each pull of the lever gives a result that is totally unrelated to the events that came before it. That’s the definition of random: there’s no relationship, no pattern there to be discovered. Yet our brains simply refuse to accept this fact. This is randumbness: insisting that there is order where there is only chaos—creating a pattern where there is none to see.

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Puzzle available on the internet at

THE NEW YORK TIMES — Crossword Puzzles and Games.



03.27.11 — Get Ready to Roll

Sunday, March 27, 2011

GET READY TO ROLL, Puzzle by Kevin G. Der / Edited by Will Shortz

This Sunday’s elongated and exhausting crossword asks the solver to imagine a bowling alley with a BALL (five outlining the trajectory) rolling down the right side toward a Big Four split, e.g., two pairs of PINS. Circled letters make note of the G U T T E R, left and right. Whether or not the imaginary bowler picks up a spare, unfortunately, the solver of the crossword must trudge through a tedious and fragmented grid clued with all the vagueness of a Friday or Saturday puzzle, perhaps pining to actually be bowling instead! Incidentally, the subject of bowling was fairly well covered in this blog about four years ago, albeit from the pinsetters view, HERE.

The pairs sharing PIN — AL[PIN]E (15A. Like some skiing) and S[PIN] DOCTORS (3D. P.R. people); [PIN]TA (17A. Niña accompanier) and S[PIN]NER (12D. Game piece); SNOO[PIN]G (21A. Yenta‘s habit) and [PIN]APPLE (22D. Hawaiian pizza topping); [PIN][BALL]ERS (24A.Bally enthusiasts) and STE[P IN]TO (11D. Enter).

BALLS — [PIN][BALL]ERS (24A.Bally enthusiasts) and [BALL]ADS (25D. Minstrel songs); [BALL]OT (50A. Ticket presenter) and CA[BALL]ED (39D. Schemed together); [BALL]OU (76A. “Cat ___,” 1965 film) and T[BALL] GLOVE (69D. Child-sized mitt); [BALL]ETS (102A. Balancing acts?) and BASE[BALL] TEAM (81D. Nine); ONE [BALL]S (126A. Yellow pool items) and [BALL]OONS (127D. Clowns’ toys).

SPLIT DECISION runs down the center of the puzzle, clued as 5-4 ruling, e.g., apt to the puzzle’s gimmick, as is SPARE MOMENT (9D. Bit of free time) near the right side of the spare and UP ONE’S ALLEY (101D. Suited to a person’s strengths).

Other — ALL ABOARD (131A. Station line) and CALL SIGN (140A. Station identification), CREAMWARE (26A. Off-white pottery), CRIED FOUL (111D. Said “No fair!“), LIME CORDIAL (83A. Citrusy cocktail mixer), MEAT WAGON (35D. Ambulance, slangily), NOT A BAD IDEA (72A. “I like your thinking”), STAR SPOT (16A. Dark patch on a distant sun), THE TIMES and ZED (145A. London daily; 147A. Letter in 145-Across), U S SENATE (19A. Century in Amer. politics). The crossword is holoalphabetic.

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Puzzle available on the internet at

THE NEW YORK TIMES — Crossword Puzzles and Games.

Remaining clues — ACROSS: 1. Ornate; 5. Spreads; 12. Old pol. Entity; 18. Roams; 20. Pony; 23. River to the North Sea; 28. Sharp-tongued; 29. Land in a stream; 31. Thin as ___’ 32. Temper; 34. Galumph; 36. They may get people talking; 38. Jazz style; 42. General Assembly figure, for short; 43. Mine, to Marie; 45. Sun Devils’ sch.; 46. Underlying; 47. Dutch brews; 51. Shred; 53. Period of the Cenozoic Era; 55. Meditate (on); 58. Like much of New Orleans’s French Quarter; 60. Beaver’s home; 61. Shankar piece; 62. ___ acid; 63. Hoedown seating; 64. Pooh’s pal; 66. What you used to be?; 68. Bickering; 77. Red-haired film princess; 79. Olds sedan; 80. Shot source; 82. Exchange fig.; 86. Focus of a class action?; 88. Novelist Hoag; 89. Cancún, e.g.; 92. Flap; 94. Drink with tempura, maybe; 97. “Howards End” role; 98. Centipede maker; 101. Singular; 103. Kaplan course, briefly; 105. Waited longer than; 107. Drillmaster’s call; 108. Called; 110. Rhodes of the Rhodes scholarships; 114. M.P.G. watcher; 115. “make.believe” sloganeer; 116. ___ guisada, Tex-Mex stew; 117. Kind of gun; 119. Continue; 123. Twin Cities sch.; 124. Waikiki wear; 128. That, in Toledo; 129. Sophocles title hero; 134. ___ del Carmen, Mexico; 135. Told stories; 136. Norwegian king called “the 77-Down”; 139. Clear; 143. Tie up; 144. Pixar robot with a female voice; 146. Rot; 148. Cheat; 149. Cheers. — DOWN: 1. Luggage; 2 Asian capital name starter; 4. ___ no; 5. Some N.F.L.’ers; 6. Runaway; 7. Make ready for a winter storm, as a highway; 8. Ed heard in “Up”; 10. Onesie wearer; 13. “Go” square in Monopoly, e.g.; 14. Cinderella’s wear, at home; 16. Darling; 27. Month before juin; 29. Swift’s “A Tale of ___”; 30. Soap opera creator Phillips; 33. “___ Mio”; 37. One in a max; 40. For ___ (cheaply); 41. Alexander, to Aristotle; 44. Sardegna, e.g.; 47. Asia’s ___ Sea; 48. What writer’s block may block; 52. Assembly area; 54. Spanish food brand; 55. Old PC part; 56. O.K. in Osaka; 57. Ones with the Christmas spirit?; 59. Mariner of note; 63. Steel or bronze; 65. Card catalog abbr.; 67. Tracker’s aid; 70. Promise to pay; 71. Large cask; 73. The Crimson Tide, for short; 74. Bass lover?; 75. Irish Rose’s beau; 77. See 136-Across; 78. “___ had it!”; 84. Skater Midori; 86. Exsiccates; 87. Campsite sight; 90. Slowing, in mus.; 91. French possessive; 93. Highlands daggers; 95. Water color; 96. “Survivor” homes; 98. More than pale; 99. Hosiery color; 100. How some shares are sold; 104. Edible mushroom; 106. Charge; 109. Fork; 112. They have rates and ratings; 113. Jay who jests; 118. Tongue-lash; 120. Engage in a 1920s fad; 121. One way to turn; 122. Cornhusker St.; 125. Draws out; 129. Still in the game; 130. Spent; 132. Merry-go-round music; 133 Sly type?; 134 W. or Bam; 137. Actress Skye; 138. Nettles; 141. Sound at a spa; 142. Neth. Neighbor.

03.26.11 — She Gallops O’er a Courtier's Nose

Queen Mab the Bringer of Dreams by Howard David Johnson

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Saturday, March 26, 2011

Puzzle by Brad Wilber, edited by Will Shortz

I found this Saturday puzzle one of the best, both entertaining and enlightening. A real dream!

Across — 1. Goat cheese, CHÈVRE; 7. Office roll, FAX PAPER; 15. Ancient “Works and Days” poet, HESIOD; 16. Thought one can’t shake, IDEE FIXE; 17. Using a large case?, IN CAPS; 18. Building that goes up easily, FIRETRAP; 19. Constellation next to Pavo, ARA; 20. Broadway role for Bea Arthur, YENTE; 22. Milton’s “Areopagitica,” e.g., TRACT; 23. Cagney’s employer, briefly, NYPD; 25. Rank achieved by 49-Across: Abbr., LIEUT; 27. Opposition leader?, ANTI; 28. Hillside landscaping effects, TIERS; 30. Harries, VEXES; 32. Film villain who sings “Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer, do!”, HAL; 33. Response to “Should we order food?”, I’VE EATEN; 35. It may be turned on a soapbox, PHRASE; 37. Org. with the Sun and Sky, WNBA; 387. First man featured on the cover of the U.S. edition of Vogue, GERE; 39. No relative, KABUKI; 42. She “gallops o’er a courtier’s nose,” in Shakespeare, QUEEN MAB; 46. Good thing to keep low on a diamond, ERA; 47. Diane with a camera, ARBUS; 49. Biden’s successor on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, KERRY; 50. Chisel, maybe, ETCH; 52. Tries to halt expansion?, DIETS; 54. Ending with fluor-, ESCE; 55. Tightwad, PIKER; 57. Part of a bar line, STOOL; 59. One might cover lemons, LAW; 60. Goo, SCHMALTZ; 62. Salon supply, POMADE; 64. So-called “wand of heaven”, ALOE VERA; 65. Render helpless, HOGTIE; 66. Minor celebrity?, TEEN IDOL; 67. Barely risk being arrested?, STREAK.

Down — 1. Italian red, CHIANTI; 2. John of Gaunt’s son, HENRY IV; 3. Gone con, ESCAPEE; 4. Using, VIA; 5. Like thick vines, ROPY; 6. Ranger, for one, EDSEL; 7. Badminton goal, FIFTEEN; 8. They may evoke tristesse, ADIEUX; 9. Disco-era kid, XER; 10. Amanda of “Syriana”, PEET; 11. Performers’ union, AFTRA; 12. One in a dangerous school, PIRANHA; 13. One-two track options, EXACTAS; 14. Scaled-back thing, REPTILE; 21. Big name in skin care, NIVEA; 24. Sch. In Madison, N.J., DREW U; 29. Kraft Foods brand, SANKA; 31. 2009 Best Musical nominee, SHREK; 34. 6-Down’s far more successful contemporary, T-BIRD; 36. French actress Saint-Cyr, RENEE; 38. Relish, GUSTO; 39. Doesn’t stop, KEEPS AT; 40. Time unit, ARTICLE; 41. It has a big bucket, BACK HOE; 42. Creature revered by the Mayans, QUETZAL; 43. Quarry boss of cartoons, MR SLATE; 44. Pan’s place, ARCADIA; 45. Idle stretch for an N.F.L. team, BYE WEEK; 48. Champs-Élysées sight, BISTRO; 51. Typical bouncers, HE-MEN; 53. Some J.V. players, SOPHS; 56. Beatle George studied under him, RAVI; 58. Swag, LOOT; 61. Opened, LED; 63. Bus. driver?, MGR.

O, then, I see Queen Mab hath been with you.

She is the fairies’ midwife, and she comes

In shape no bigger than an agate-stone

On the fore-finger of an alderman,

Drawn with a team of little atomies

Athwart men's noses as they lie asleep;

Her wagon-spokes made of long spinners’ legs,

The cover of the wings of grasshoppers,

The traces of the smallest spider's web,

The collars of the moonshine's wat'ry beams,

Her whip of cricket's bone; the lash of film;

Her waggoner a small grey-coated gnat,

Not half so big as a round little worm

Pricked from the lazy finger of a maid:

Her chariot is an empty hazelnut

Made by the joiner squirrel or old grub,

Time out o’ mind the fairies’ coachmakers.

And in this state she gallops night by night

Through lovers’ brains, and then they dream of love;

O’er courtiers’ knees, that dream on court'sies straight,

O’er lawyers’ fingers, who straight dream on fees,

O’er ladies ‘ lips, who straight on kisses dream,

Which oft the angry Mab with blisters plagues,

Because their breaths with sweetmeats tainted are:

Sometime she gallops o’er a courtier's nose,

And then dreams he of smelling out a suit;

And sometime comes she with a tithe-pig's tail

Tickling a parson's nose as a’ lies asleep,

Then dreams, he of another benefice:

Sometime she driveth o’er a soldier's neck,

And then dreams he of cutting foreign throats,

Of breaches, ambuscadoes, Spanish blades,

Of healths five-fathom deep; and then anon

Drums in his ear, at which he starts and wakes,

And being thus frighted swears a prayer or two

And sleeps again. This is that very Mab

That plaits the manes of horses in the night,

And bakes the elflocks in foul sluttish hairs,

Which once untangled, much misfortune bodes:

This is the hag, when maids lie on their backs,

That presses them and learns them first to bear,

Making them women of good carriage:

This is she—

~ Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, Act I, scene iv

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03.25.11 — Just Jousting

Friday, March 25, 2011

Puzzle by Mike Nothnagel, edited by Will Shortz

JOUSTS (8A. Renaissance fair sights) — also, costumed entertainers, musical and theatrical acts, art and handicrafts, food, wizards, elves, pasteboard main streets, beer and bosoms, animal rides, falconry, parades, concerts, vendors, artisans, guilds, culture, accents, lances, pillories, stocks, stunts, combat, troupes, swordplay… Renaissance fair sights?

Remaining across, equally vague — 1. Hurriedly, IN HASTE; 14. Remove forcibly, TEAR AWAY; 16. Best in calculating?, OUTWIT; 17. Start of a breaking news story, WE’RE LIVE; 18. R-rated, maybe, STEAMY; 19. Make thing, say, ADD WATER; 20. Digs for peanuts?, HOSTEL, clever!; 21. Animal used in 8-Across, STEED; 22. Not allowed on certain diets, TREF; 24. What starts off light?, TWI; 25. ION drive (engine in “Star Wars”); 26. Wrapped up, FURLED; 29. Green Giant bagful, PEAS; 30. She “espied their tails side by side, / All hung on a tree to dry”, BO PEEP; 31. Rush drummer/lyricist Neil, PEART; 32. No-name, GENERIC; 35. Merging locations, ON RAMPS; 37. Hoover rival, ORECK; 38. It gets a new position upon graduation TASSEL; 40. Scratch, NICK; 41. Haw, GO LEFT; 42. Pier grp., ILA; 45. Opponent of Luther during the Protestant Reformation, ECK; 46. “Sommersby” star, 1993, GERE; 47. Group with the 1963 #1 hit “So Much in Love,” with “the”, TYMES; 49. Coal miner, PITMAN; 51. Didn’t take seriously, PLAYED AT; 54. Francois’s farewells, ADIEUX; 55. Onetime General Motors spokesman, PAT BOONE; 56. Schlock, SLEAZE; 57. Used-car ad phrase, ONE OWNER; 58. Perfumery employee, TESTER; 59. Where some jets originate, GEYSERS.

Down — 1. Dramatic confession, IT WAS I; 2. Must, NEED TO; 3. Set, HARDEN; 4. “ARE WE ready?”; 5. It’s used during an introductory course, SALAD FORK; 6. Nincompoop, TWIT; 7. Builder’s projected expense?, EAVE; 9. Lacking, OUT OF; 10. Uintah and Ouray Reservation tribe, UTES; 11. Help in a dangerous situation, SWAT TEAM; 12. Dance in which “you bring you knees in tight”, TIME WARP; 13. Those involved in cutting class at school?, STYLISTS; 15. Blue-backed Dr. Seuss character, YERTLE; 23. Sleep, REPOSE; 27. News inits., UPI; 238. One paid for services rendered?, RECTOR; 29. Ring tone?, PEAL; 30. One-named rock star of the 1990s-2000s, BECK; 31. Handsome Dan, PRETTY BOY; 32. Overtaken, GONE PAST; 33. “And Now for Something Completely Different” costar, ERIC IDLE; 34. Haberdashery section, NECKTIES; 36. Univ. research grantor, NSF; 39. Largest city in Syria, ALEPPO; 41. Millennial’s parent, GENXER; 42. “All finished!”, I’M DONE; 43. “Almost” in horseshoes, LEANER; 44. “Wild” flowers in a Sara Teasdale poem, ASTERS; 46. Wrapping material, GAUZE; 48. Cries of pain, YEOWS; 50. Crux, MEAT; 52. Filmmaker Fritz LANG; 53. Exactly, after “to”, A TEE.

 

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03.24.11 — J E T S

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Puzzle by Ian Livengood, edited by Will Shortz

J E T S in circles at the beginning of JACUZZI FEATURES, ENGINES ON A PLANE, TEAM FROM NEW YORK and SHARKS RIVAL GANG (all clued as See circles) constitute the interrelated group of this lively Thursday crossword.

Other — ATELIERS (20A. Where oils are produced), COULD I (4D. “Would they let me?“), DREAMT (21A. Imagined), INTERN (23D. June-August worker, perhaps), JEZEBELS (5D. Wicked women), PIE PLATE (9D. Makeshift Frisbee), SALMON (27D. Pink shade), TELL A LIE (55A. Prevaricate), TUNDRA (51A. Caribou’s domain), YEAGER (48D. Flier of the X-1).

Five-letter — AFOR, AHERO, ALOHA, EBOOK, EMERY (14A. Something that might reduce a tip?), ENDAT, GENOA, MARIS (43A. Ruth chaser in 1961), NEALE, NICER, ONE AM and SLEEP (28D. Common time for 38-Across), ROAST, SAHIB, SLANT, SWELL, TENET, TRAPS, YADDA, ZIONS.

Short stuff — ASNO, AURA, BAJA, BARE,, BLOC, DANO, Art DECO, DOB, DREW, ECHO, EGOS, EMIR, EVER, GAIN, GLUE, IDA, INHD, IRE, ITEM, JERI, LACE, LAD, LSAT, LUTE, NAPA, NEE, NEST (12D. “Cheep“ accommodations), OHM, ONCE, OON, PEE, POPE, REB and REO, REDS and REFS, SHAW, TINA, TSPS, UH OH (52D. "This might get ugly!").

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Remaining clues — ACROSS: 1. Tea Partiers, in Congress, e.g.; 5. Ryan of “Boston Public”; 9. Appreciate; 13. Come ___ surprise; 16. Subject of a lesson for Katharina in “The Taming of the Shrew”; 22. July 4, 1872, for Calvin Coolidge: Abbr.; 23. Muckraker Tarbell; 33. Called previously; 34. Pitch; 35. Title of respect; 36. Paul of “There Will Be Blood”; 41. ___ shirt (colorful short sleeved attire); 45. Classic auto; 49. Suffix with buff; 50. Person’s head?; 62. Writer who popularized the saying “To err is human, to forgive divine”); 63. Position; 64. Lingering trace; 65. The 1999 comedy “She’s All That” is based on his work; 66. Unveiled; 67. Médoc and Grenache. — DOWN: 1. ___ 1000 (annual Mexican race); 2. Some coll. Seniors take it for Harvard and Yale, but not for Princeton; 3. “The Raven” opening; 6. Doha V.I.P.; 7. Zebras; 8. Cause of shouting; 9. Arts and crafts purchase; 10. Special glow; 11. TMZ twosome; 15. When tripled, “and so on”; 18. ___ Camp, historic Mormon expedition led by Joseph Smith; 19. Green surroundings?; 24. Finish on; 25. Writer Zora ___ Hurston; 26. Salami option; 29. Young ‘un; 30. “Don’t be ___”; 31. More gentlemanly or ladylike; 32. Kindle download; 37. His law is represented as 1 = V/R; 42. Stick ___ in (test for doneness); 44. Keen; 47. Often-television celebrity event; 51. Recipe amts.; 53. Wine region; 54. Took a card; 55. Rock bassist Weymouth; 56. By any chance; 57. Collar material; 58. How many TV shows can be seen nowadays; 59. Big heads; 61. Jeff Davis follower.