Saturday, September 10, 2011
Puzzle by David Quarfoot / Edited by Will Shortz
Ambivalent clues, excessive initials, rampant obscurity and perverse vagueness are the heart and soul of this flagitious Saturday crossword.
Across — 1. Only song on Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” list that is not sung in English, LA BAMBA (Leave it to Guiness!); 8. Midweek, HUMPDAY (How common!); 15. Unitedly, AS A TEAM (Spell-check won’t accept “unitedly”); 16. See, OBSERVE; 17. Humor, CATER TO (Pour on the vichyssoise!); 18. Goes back and forth, in a way, TOGGLES; 19. Bread pudding ingredient, EGG; 20. Subject on a wanted poster, LOST CAT (Was thinking DOG, certainly not CAT!, who wants one!, see Comments!); 22. NPR’s ARI Shapiro (Arie wouldn't fit!); 23. “A God in Ruins” novelist, URIS; 25. Man of steel?, ROBOT (Ha, ha! Good one!); 26. Gridiron cues, HUTS (Is that what they grunt?); 27. Reduces, PARES; 29. Country music’s ZAC Brown Band; 30. Line up, AGREE (Uh, well… ); 31. Shady, say, SYLVAN (More misdirection… ); 33. Frequently disputed court call?, ROE V WADE (Please lose this forever, thank you!, after all it‘s not fill, it‘s a basic entry!); 35. Map abbr., ELEV; 37. First name in auto racing, ARIE (Ariel wouldn‘t fit!); 38. Transfer, SIGN OVER (Not “turn over”); 42. Concedes, ALLOWS; 46. Island near Ayr, ARRAN (How convenient!); 47. It ended in 1947, RAJ (As obscure a clue as is possible…); 49. Welcome to paradise?, ALOHA (Depending upon one’s paradise... ); 50. Tower, LOOM (Depending upon one‘s position… ); 51. Charybdis, e.g., NAIAD (Oh sure, we all know this one!); 53. Source of some highly prized 19-Acrosses, SHAD (Sounds fishy, doesn’t it; would you use it in a bread pudding?); 54. 1940s-’60s world leader, U NU (Perhaps last year, in the crossword world, who knew; this year, we all know!); 55. Where one’s head is, MIND-SET (Hopefully… ); 57. Robitaille of the N.H.L., LUC (Fill, fill, fill!); 58. #1 in sports, TOP SEED (Odd phrase, isn‘t it?); 60. Northern air, O CANADA (Lose this too!); 62 Sometimes-banned work, EROTICA; 63. State of anarchy, NO RULES (However, chaos has rules!); 64. Misters abroad, SENORES (Again and again and again…); 65. Setting of many plots, X Y PLANE (Zero for clue and entry!).
A Naiad by John William Waterhouse, 1893; a water nymph approaches the sleeping Hylas.
Down — 1. Some boots, LACE-UPS (A type or brand of note?); 2. Name on the highest award of the American Society of Plant Taxonomists, ASA GRAY; 3. Diamond handler?, BAT GIRL (It is a Saturday crossword…); 4. Had, ATE (Count the ways this has been clued.); 5. Keyboardist MERL Saunders who played with the Grateful Dead; 6. Mongolian for “hero”, BATOR (How’s your Mongolian?!); 7. “A Perfect Peace” novelist, AMOS OZ; 8. Drink in a mug, HOT COCOA; 9. Wolf pack member, U-BOAT (More misdirection!); 10. U.S.M.C. E-8, MSGT (You didn’t know this?!); 12. “Stop Whining, Start Living” author, DR LAURA (Don’t take it personally); 13. Turned away, AVERTED; 14. “That is clear”, YES I SEE (Not today!); 21. Boarder’s aid, T-BAR (O Saturdays!); 24. Rising time, for some, SEVEN AM (Not today!); 26. Writer on whose work Woody Allen’s “Sleeper” is loosely based, H G WELLS (Whee!, more initials!); 28. Setting for a set, SALON (Hmpfh!); 30. Basilica de San Vicente setting, AVILA; 32. Home of Pyramid Lake: Abbr.; NEV; 34. Christian ERA; 36. Ballustraded locales, often, VERANDAS; 38. Honors, SALUTES; 39. Major export of Brazil and Australia, IRON ORE; 40. Marketing giant with a portmanteau name, GROUPON (Believe it or not, new to me!); 41. Bust, RAID; 43. “Hot!”; OOH LA LA (Lose this one too!); 44. Poetry makes nothing happen” writer, W H AUDEN (Yet even more initials!… ); 45. It’s unfortunate, SAD CASE; 48. 2002 horror sequel, JASON X (OMG!, there are ten of them, I’ve never seen a single one!) ; 52. Lure, DECOY; 55. Bergman’s last role, MEIR; 56. Response to the ‘08 financial crisis, TARP (I’m going to look this one up, as I’ve never heard of it!); 59. Pou STO (vantage point) (Oh, sure, everyday conversation!); 61. Void: Fr., NUL (So, there you have it, "NUL and Void!").
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