06.21.11 — It's Summertime!

Tuesday, June 21, 2011 — Summer Solstice

Puzzle by Kelsey Boes / Edited by Will Shortz

Swapping the first and last words of familiar phrases, e.g.,CONTROLS THE JAM (20A. Directs rush-hour traffic?), FLAMES THE FAN (25A. Posts abusive comments about a team supporter?), WHIP THE CRACK (43A. Blend an illegal street drug?) and QUESTION THE POP (52A.Ask “Is this really diet soda?,” for instance?) constitutes the interrelated group of this sunny Tuesday crossword.

Other — CUPOLAS (5D. Cathedral toppers), EASTMAN (42D. George who founded Kodak), EILEEN (42A. Astronaut Collins), SOAP OPERA (17A. “Dallas,” e.g.), SWIM SUITS (58A. Beachwear).   

Mid-size — APIAN, APSES, AURAL, DEVILS (31A. New Jersey hockey squad), ETHIC, Keep an EYE ON, HERON, HEY JOE (10D. Jimi Hendrix’s first single), IBOOK, ORALLY, PLANS, PRE-AMP, PRELIM, RAINY, RICOHS, RIZZO, RUN-INS, SHARI, SHEESH, SIGMA, STEPS, TESLAS (45D. Magnetic induction units), Explorer VASCO da Gama, “À VOTRE santé!”.

Short stuff — ABLE, ACC, ADO, ADZE, ALI, AREA, ASS and ASSN, AVA, CPOS, DRAW, EACH, EURO, FAZE, FIN, HITS, ILK, ISLA, ISO, LENA (60A. “Stormy Weather” singer Horne), No ROOM at the INN, NOON, OARS, OKS, ONES, PIE, PHD, QUIT, RARE, REA, SEPT, SLAT, SID, TIS, URAL, URGE, USO, VICI, VIPS, WHAT, WII.

“Summer is the time when one sheds one’s tensions with one’s clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all’s right with the world.” ~ Ada Louise Huxtable

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Puzzle available on the internet at

THE NEW YORK TIMES — Crossword Puzzles and Games.

Remaining clues — ACROSS: 1. Limo-riding sorts; 5. Noncom naval personnel; 9. Puppeteer Lewis, 14. Adept; 15. Russia’s ___ Mountains; 16. Bird that flies with its neck restracted; 22. Green-lights; 23. “Aladdin” prince; 24. Prefix with metric; 34. “Angela’s Ashes” follow-up; 35. Hubbub; 36. Like days when you forget to take an umbrella, all to often?; 37. Woodrow Wilson is the only U.S. president to have one; 38. Betty ___ (“Grease” role); 40. Duke’s athletic grp.; 41. Source of lots of living-room arm-waving; 42. Astronaut Collins; 47. Stephen of “V for Vendetta”; 48. G.I.’s entertainment provider; 49. Gardner of “The Night of the Iguana”; 57. Hearing-related; 59. Summation signifier, in math; 61. Like a total solar eclipse; 62. They’re often taken in rehab; 63. Part of Y.M.C.A.: Abbr.; 64. Rightmost column is an addition. — DOWN: 2. Old Apple; 3. Schedules; 4. Mo. Of Mexican Independence Day; 6. Event before the main event; 7. Scull propellers; 8. Airplane wing component; 9. “You’ve got to be kidding!”; 11. Base times height, for a rectangle; 12. No ___ at the 13-Down; 13. See 12-Down; 18. By mouth; 21. Web site visits; 25. Feature of many a 1950s car; 26. Work ___; 27. Grauman of Grauman’s Theater; 28. Discombobulate; 29. Woodworking tool; 30. Lunchtime, often; 31. Inconclusive outcome; 32. Every one; 33. Part of Caesar’s boast; 37. Crusty dish; 38. Some cameras; 39. Kind; 41. “Come again?”; 44. Roadie’s tote; 46. Confrontations; 49. Beelike; 52. Throw in the towel; 53. Desire; 54. Cuba, por ejemplo; 55. Is in the red; 56. Coin with a map on its back; 57. Animal present at Jesus’ birth, in tradition.