Sunday, May 20, 2012
WISECRACKS, Puzzle by Alan Arbesfeld / Edited by Will Shortz
Ten common phrases stripped of the letter Y subsequently producing uncommon phrases constitutes the interrelated group of this clever Sunday crossword:
- TREAT OF VERSAILLES (23A. Chocolat, say?)
- A STUD IN SCARLET (39A. Macho drag queen?)
- GOOD AND READ (50A. Like literary classics?)
- BEER BELL (54A. Call to the bar?)
- PART ANIMAL (68A. Like a centaur?)
- BILL THE KID (70A. “Don’t let that youngster get off without paying”?)
- FAIR TALE (86A. Unbiased account?)
- LIVER STABLE (89A. Announcement made by a transplant surgeon, perhaps?)
- BRAND ALEXANDER (97A. Stigmatize a “great” king?)
- THE SOUND AND THE FUR (119A. Two reasons to avoid a dog kennel?)
Other — ACID TEST (91D. Conclusive trial), AIRPORTS (87D. Places for gates), EMBODIED (59D. Represented), EXPLODE and GO POSTAL ((94D. Lose it; 18D. Lose it), FABULIST (86D. Aesop, notably), FEATURED (4D. Given prominence), IT ADDS UP (88D. “That makes sense”), O’DONNELL (17A. Former co-host of “The View”), TOLD A LIE (16D. Was duplicitous), TRAVELER (41D. Pilgrim).
Seven-letter — AROUSAL, AS USUAL, BITTERS, CLOTURE (38D. Debate ender), DIMPLES, I SAID NO, LODGERS, MODELED, OKTOBER, ONE BALL (34D. It‘s solid yellow), ONSTAGE, TRUST ME, WHIZ KID.
Six — ALL OUT, DACRON, DERMAL, DETEST, DOGNAP (36D. Take a peke?), LAICAL, ODED ON, REALLY, SCRAPE, SLOGAN, THIRST, TWITTY (100D. Singer of the 1958 #1 hit “It‘s Only Make Believe“).
Five — ABDUL, ADALE, Joss ADDIE, Elaine BENES, CAFES, Alain DELON, DEPOT, EAT ME, HYDRA, LOG IN, RATED, REFRY, SABRA, STARR and STARZ, UMASS, UNDER, TEPID, WOMAN.
Short stuff — ACES, AIT, AGUA, A-ONE, ARES, Not worth A SOU, ATAD and TADA, ATRI, BURN, CATO, CEES, CHEF, CO-ED, DELI, DPS, E FOR effort, EL AL, ELSA, ENES, ETTE, GAEA, GNAR, HETH, HORN, HUNT, IDLE, IKO, ILA, IRS and ISR, LEA, LOP, LYYR, MDLI, NAAN (52D. Tandoor-baked bread), NALA and NASA, NOD and NOG and NOL, NUT, ODO, OEUF, OPT, ORLE, Olive OYL, PART, RED, RHEA, RIV, RUDE, Nolan RYAN, SANS, SEPT, SIM, SODA, SPED, SRAS, STU, SUE, TAM O’shanter, TOG, TRES and TRAS, TSP, UPDO, VEE and VUE.
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Remaining clues — ACROSS: 1. Course preparer; 5. Close shave; 11. John Lennon song that ends “I love you, yeah, yeah, now and forever”; 16. Deck (out); 19. Tops; 20. Like some church matters; 21. Monster slain by Hercules; 22. Lead-in to meter; 26. Shorten, with “off”; 27. In the limelight; 28. HBO competitor; 29. Emphatic denial; 31. Home to the Minutemen, informally; 33. When repeated, an old New Orleans tune; 35. Word repeated four times in the last line of Shakespeare’s “All the world’s a stage” speech; 36. Polyester fabric; 46. Shield border; 47. Make, as a copy of a CD; 48. Stop on a line; 49. Dockworkers’ org.; 56. Weirdo; 57. Earth goddess; 58. Bobby who sang “Take Good Care of My Baby”; 60. Hall-of-Fame pitcher Joss; 61. Unsurprisingly; 63. Skinny?; 65. Discreet signal; 75. Rural setting; 76. Had way too much of; 78. Words from a con man; 79. Given a number, maybe; 83. Flushed; 84. Baseball’s strikeout king; 86. Go (for); 92. British isle; 93. Allan-___ (figure in the Robin Hood legend); 95. Omelette ingredient; 96. Middling grades; 100. Hankering; 102. Salon selection; 103. Twin killings, on a diamond: Abbr.; 104. Went off course; 106. Part of the inn crowd?; 110. Access requirement, maybe; 114. Old-fashioned ingredient; 118. Big collection agcy.; 122. Apt name for a 1-Across?; 123. Unenthusiastic; 124. Maximum; 125. Bar mixer; 126. Rx amt.; 127. Wonderland message; 128. “Are you kidding me?”; 129. Ocho minus cinco. — DOWN: 1. Roman cesor; 2. Game ender, at times; 3. Chemical endings; 4. Given prominence; 5. “A diamond is forever,” e.g.; 6. Saint-Germain-des-Prés sights; 7. Ohio or Colorado: Abbr.; 8. Some tennis winners; 9. Head line?; 10. Lanchester on the screen; 11. Little genius; 13. Mid 16th century year; 14. God with a shield; 15. Launch party?; 24. ___-shanter; 25. Of no interest; 30. See 32-Down: Abbr.; 32. Native of 30-Down; 37. Excitement; 40. Do more than threaten, say; 42. Anesthetized; 43. Tore; 44. Like some dorms; 45. Title town of a Longfellow poem; 51. Chihuahua drink; 53. Where heroes are made; 55. Elaine of “Seinfeld”; 59. Represented; 62. Outlaw Belle who is said to have harbored Jesse James; 63. Many a Little League coach; 64. River to the Rhône; 66. When many German skeins are lifted; 67. They get bigger when you smile; 69. Hit the runway; 71. Astronomical distance: Abbr.; 72. Refrain syllables; 73. Easter activity; 74. Abhor; 77. Actor Alain; 80. Barely; 81. “I did it!”; 82. It’s grounded every Saturday; 84. Prepare, as some Mexican-style beans; 90. Saturn S.U.V.; 91. Conclusive trial; 98. Holiday quaff; 100. Singer of the 1958 #1 hit “It’s Only Make Believe”; 101. The first “H” in Hanukkah; 106. Former TV judge; 107. Suffix with cigar; 108. Cousin of an ostrich; 109. Back-to-sch. Time; 111. Growl; 112. Sitting on one’s hands; 113. Simba’s mate; 116. Tactless; 117. Mmes., over the border; 120. Actor Alastair; 121. Cambodia’s Lon ___.
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