09.29.11 — PLUS

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Puzzle by Ben Fish / Edited by Will Shortz

A note accompanies this Thursday crossword, “Two hints for 17- and 57-Across and 11- and 26-Down appear somewhere in this puzzle.” There appears a black-square 8x8 plus sign in the center of the crossword and four circles at the outer four corners containing the letters P L U and S, along with GRADE BONUS, MATH SYMBOL, NICE QUALITY and POSITIVE END, all clued as [See blurb].

Other — ANTIQUE, ARSENIC, AT TIMES, CUPCAKE, DESPAIR, ECSTASY, EPONYM, NOTEPAD, PEERAGE, PESTERS, PROFESS, SAUSAGE (8D. Link in the food chain?), SAVANTS, STOOGES, ROPE TOW, THE SIMS (43A. Best-selling PC game released in 2000).

Five-letter — AARON, BAKER, CSPAN, ERI TU, GINSU, HONES, IRATE, IRENE, LEVEE, MAORI, POP UP, SIMON, SNAFU, STABS, UTERO, “YES WE can”.

Short stuff — ADO, AREA, ARI, BOA (60D. Flapper wrapper), DIRE, DCIV, EIRE, ERA, ETE, FOND, ION exchange, IST, LIE and LIS, Bath MAT, MAE, MTNS, NAE, ODD duck, “The ONE L lama, he‘s a priest“, ORB and ORR, PANT, PEA, PIG, PISA, RAF, ROAR, SED and SEM and SEN, SRAS, RAF, ROAR, TIP, TRA, UND and UNDO.

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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. Easy catch; 65. Site of some Galileo experiments; 14. Dutch princess who’s the daughter of Queen Juliana; 15. Air show sound; 16. Grievous; 19. Year St. Augustine of Canterbury died; 20. Org. with a target like mark on its flag; 21. Scholl yr. section; 23. Time for a pique-nique, maybe; 24. Honeybun; 28. Ming jar, e.g.; 30. Second bananas; 31. Kind of knife; 32. Bugs; 33. Seventh heaven; 36. N.L. West team, on scoreboards; 37. Fairy tale; 38. Reporter’s aid; 47. Hot; 48. Simple ski lift; 49. Learned ones; 51 Analgesic; 52. Scot’s negative; 53. Service award?; 54. Upper body: Abbr.; 63. Enamored (of); 64. Home for Samuel Beckett; 65. Language known to native speakers as “te reo”; 66. Reverse; 67. Esposas: Abbr.; 68. Tries. — DOWN: 1. Glutton; 2. Bomber pilot in “Catch-22”; 3. Green globule; 4. German connection; 5. British aristocracy; 6. Claim; 9. #33 on a table; 12. Baritone piece sung by Renato; 13. New Orleans sight; 18. Sondheim’s Mrs. Lovett, e.g.; 22. Range parts: Abbr.; 24. Airer of hearings; “In ___,” Nirvana album; 27. Prison staple; 29. Suffix with real or surreal; 34. One who says a lot in a game; 35. “___ can” (campaign slogan); 39. The Depression, e.g.; 40. Runners do it; 41. Occasionally; 42. Hopelessness; 43. Wrecks; 44. Puts an edge on; 45. Curie, Kelvin and Fermi; 46. But: Lat.; 49. Major mess; 50. Sorkin who wrote “The Social Network”; 56. Shakespearean stir; 58. La-la lead-in; 61. Sphere; 62. French flower.