11.03.12 — Mission

 

Frame from the film “2001: A Space Odyssey” —

Dave hears HAL say “This mission is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it.”

 

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Saturday, November 3, 2012

 

Puzzle by Milo Beckman / Edited by Will Shortz

A fairly fair and friendly crossword with a little something for everyone constitutes the fare for the frequently forlorn Saturday solver…

 

Across — 1. Sarcasm indicator, AIR QUOTES; 10. Rating org., MPAA; 14. It may give you a final answer, CHEAT SHEET; 16. Baseball’s Eddie who was nicknamed “The Walking Man, YOST; 17. Real head-turners, HOT TAMALES; 18. Vino place, ASTI; 19. Antagonistic org. in “The Simpsons Movie”, EPA; 20. Speaker of the film line “This mission is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it”, HAL; 21. Libertine’s opposite, PURITAN; 23. Spanish cardinal, SEIS; 25. Fall sensation, NIP; 27. Activity studied in on mastics, NAMING; 28. Currently playing, ON NOW; 30. Brandy or whiskey, AQUA VITAE; 32 What a monkey may see or hear, NO EVIL; 34. “Groundhog Day” director, RAMIS; 35. Groups of three, TRINES; 37. Nuclear WINTER; 40. Discharge, EGEST; 42. Season finale?, SERIES; 44. Electrical room device, WATTMETER; 48. Probed, DUG AT; 49. Not likely to judge, AMORAL; 50. First of 50: Abbr., DEL; 52. Jennifer of the BBC production “Pride and Prejudice”, EHLE; 53. Capital Hill sight, ROTUNDA; 5. Young hunk, say, FOX; 57. Cyrillic letter between kha and che, TSE; 58. Desert mount, ARAB; 59. Union in 1999 news, EXXON MOBIL; 62. Kind of tower, CELL; 63. Modify an order?, REORGANIZE; 64. Forum being, ESSE; 65. Is clearly #1, DOMINATES.

 

United States Capitol Rotunda with silhouette of the statue of George Washington

 

Down — 1. Dean of the Truman cabinet, ACHESON; 2. “That would be bad!”, I HOPE NOT; 3. Legal tender?, RETAINER; 4. Chewable Mideast stimulant, QAT; 5. Hexagon on a map, UTAH; 6. 13^th-century empire founder, OSMAN; 7. Muse of comedy, THALIA; 8. Smoked delicacy, EEL; 9. Slip through the cracks, SEEP; 10. Elvis Costello’s debut album, MY AIM IS TRUE; 11. Tacky yellow thing, POST IT; 12 Kazakhstan’s capital, ASTANA; 13. Not much, colorwise, A TINGE; 15. Great swells, TSUNAMIS; 22. Showing severe erosion, maybe, RAVINED; 24. Coin featuring a hammer and sickle, SOVIET RUBLE; 26. What may follow “NO”, PQR; 29. Lead pilot’s support, WINGMAN; 31. A.F.L.-C.I.O. affiliate, UAW; 33. First African-American golfer to play in the Masters, LEE ELDER; 36. Retired boomer, SST; 38. Like some old gaming consoles, EIGHT BIT; 39. Not reduced or enlarged, REAL SIZE; 41. “Better Off TED” (former ABC sitcom); 43. Politico Michael and others, STEELES; 44. Decorated pilot, WAR ACE; 45. Ovid opus, AMORES; 46. Wrecks, TOTALS; 47. 1990s party name, REFORM; 51. Sound of silence?, LONG I; 54. Reduced drastically, AXED; 56. Cyclops, e.g., in comic books, X-MAN; 60. Unhelpful noughts-and-crosses line, XOO; 61. ON A mission.

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The other Elvis… check out the close-up!

 

 

 

 

Click on image to enlarge.

 

Puzzle available on the internet at

THE NEW YORK TIMES — Crossword Puzzles and Games.