04.30.14 — MAC VS PC

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Puzzle by Zhouqin Burnikel / Edited by Will Shortz

MAC VS PC (37A. Epic  battle in technology … or a hint to four crossings in this puzzle), plus the four abutments of MAC and PC, constitutes the main feature of this curious Wednesday crossword.  The “crossings”:

STRIP CLUB and MACAWS (16A. Bada Bing!, on “The Sopranos”; 5D. Colorful parrots)
SMACKS and POP CULTURE (21A. Loud kisses; 10D. Movies, TV, hit songs, etc.)
MACE and SHARP CURVE (48A. Antiriot spray; 28D. Hairpin, e.g.)
TRUMP CARD (61A. Winning advantage) and Poison SUMAC.

Other — ACAI (56A. Dark purple fruit), AENEID (46D. Post-Trojan War epic), BRUCE Wayne, a.k.a  BATMAN (47D. Superhero ally of Commissioner Gordon); BLUESY (47A. Like Muddy Waters’s music), LOREN and OSCAR (60A. “Two Women” star, 1960; 64A. Award for 60-Across for her role in “Two Women”), LIP BALM (50A. Stick in a purse, maybe), NEWHART (22A. Sitcom set at a Vermont inn), PALIN (45A. “Going Rogue” author), SKOSH (12D. Wee bit).

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04.29.14 — Newspaper Columns

News Stand, YarsPhotography 

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Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Puzzle by Jules P. Markey / Edited by Will Shortz

NEWSPAPER COLUMN, along with TIMES, POST, SUN and GLOBE, all found in vertical column entries constitutes the interrelated group of this Tuesday crossword:

NEWSPAPER COLUMN (11D. Place to express an opinion … or a literal description of 3-, 7-, 9- and 21-Down?)
TIMES TABLE CHART (3D. Multiplication aid)
POST OFFICE BOXES (7D. Mail holders)
SUN WORSHIPER (9D. Ardent beachgoer)
GLOBE TROTTER 21D. Basketball showman)

Other — ALL / PRO (27D. With 25-Down, football star), COVERALLS (57A. Some work clothes), DIS and WASTE (23A and 22A. Trash), EMERGENTS (20A. Ones coming into view), INKS and PENS (67A and 63A. Writes indelibly), OVENS (51D. Places to put one’s dough), PUREES (5D. Makes smoothies, e.g.), TRUCE (42A. Stay in the fight?), UMAMI (2D. One of the five basic tastes), VERGE (62A. Brink).

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04.28.14 — Body Doubles

Bond of Union, M. C. Escher, 1956

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Monday, April 28, 2014

Puzzle by Jim Modney / Edited by Will Shortz

BODY DOUBLES (35A. Star stand-ins … or a hint to 17-, 25-, 48- and 58-Across?), HEAD TO HEAD (17A. Direct, as competition), TÊTE À TÊTE (25A. 17-Across, literally: Fr.), MANO A MANO (48A. 58-Across, literally: Sp.) and HAND TO HAND (58A. Direct, as combat) constitute the interrelated group of this Monday crossword.

Other — BLENDS IN (35D. Is inconspicuous, say), CAIRN terrier (dog breed), COME NOW (38D. “Don’t be absurd!”), GELATO (31A. Italian ice cream), MILANO (45D. Certain Pepperidge Farm cookie), ON A DATE (39D. Out with one’s sweetie), SINLESS (13D. Immaculate), SQUEEZES (11D. Hugs tightly), TAHITI (1D. Polynesian paradise), UDDER (4D. What a milking machine connects to).

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04.27.14 — Predictable Partings

Jackhammer Operator at Douglas Dam in Tennessee, 1942 

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Sunday, April 27, 2014

“Predictable Partings”  — Puzzle by John Lampkin

Edited by Will Shortz

Twelve clue/answers of individuals’ occupations amusingly constructed as though departing constitutes the main feature of this Sunday crossword:

The paparazzo … WAS GONE IN A FLASH (23A.)
The demolitionist … BLEW THE JOINT (35A.)
The civil engineer … HIT THE ROAD (55A.)
The lingerie manufacturer … SLIPPED AWAY (60A.)
The chicken farmer … FLEW THE COOP (69A.)
The sound technician … MADE TRACKS (74A.)
The film director … QUIT THE SCENE (93A.)
The soda jerk … RAN LICKETY SPLIT (108A.)
The ecdysiast … TOOK OFF (15D.)
The percussionist … BEAT IT (17D.)
The van driver … MOVED ON (84D.)
The paper doll maker … CUT OUT (89D.)

Other  — EAR CANDY (27A. Catchy pop ditties), Tutti FRUITI, GHASTLY (87D. Horrifying), INSPIRES (102A. Motivates), MITOSIS (33A. Division in biology), MONARCH (63A. Queen, e.g.), POLENTA (10D. Cornmeal dish), UNERRING (85A. Faultless).

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04.26.14 — The Saturday Crossword

Cinderella Castle, Walt Disney World, Florida

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Saturday, April 26, 2014

Puzzle by Evan Birnholz / Edited by Will Shortz

Across — 1. “Friday the 13th” setting, CAMP; 5. Cry accompanying a slap, HOW DARE YOU; 15. Green leader?, EVER; 16. Office addresses?, INAUGURALS; 17. Tragically heartbroken figure of myth, DIDO; 18. Some cocktail garnishes, MELON BALLS; 19. Noted nominee of 2005, ALITO; 21. Stumped, AT SEA; 22. Bit of audio equipment?, EAR; 23. Controversial thing to play, RACE CARD; 25. Stats, for new arrivals, WTS; 27. Base’s opposite, SUMMIT; 29. “That’s true - however …”, OK BUT; 33. Locale for the Zoot Suit Rots of ‘43, EAST LA; 36. Fashion clothes, SEW; 38. Team unifier, YOKE; 39. They created the Get Rid of Slimy Girls club, CALVIN AND HOBBES; 42. Brand with a “Wonderfilled” ad campaign, OREO; 43. Nail, ACE; 44. Beginning of some tributes, A TOAST; 45. Just beginning, NEW TO; 47. Longtime rival of 42-Across, HYDROX; 49. Midwest terminal?, ERN; 51. Reality show documenting a two-week trade, WIFE SWAP; 55. “A veil, rather than a mirror,” per Oscar Wilde, ART; 58. Line outside a gala, LIMOS; 60. Dreaded message on a returned 32-down, SEE ME; 61. Reverse transcriptase is found in it, RETROVIRUS; 64. “To End A WAR” (1998 Richard Holbrooke best seller; 65. Q&A query, ANYONE ELSE; 66. Barker in a basket, TOTO; 67. One endlessly smoothing things over?, BELT SANDER; 68. Cross state, SNIT.

Down — 1. Fencing material, CEDAR; 2. Europe’s City of Saints and Stones, AVILA; 3. Battlefield cry, MEDIC; 4. Abstention alternative, PROTEST VOTE; 5. “Let HIM Run Wild” (B-side to “California Girls”); 6. Physical feature of Herman on “The Simpsons”, ONE ARM; 7. Home to Main Street, U.S.A., WALT DISNEY WORLD; 8. The Hardy Boys and others, DUOS; 9. He called his critics “pusillanimous pussyfooters”, AGNEW; 10. With flexibility in tempo, RUBATO; 11. Reagan-ERA; 12. Harkness Tower locale, YALE; 13. Pueblo cooker, OLLA; 14. Red giant that disintegrated?, USSR; 20. Round windows, OCULI; 24. Brand named after some Iowa villages, AMANA; 26. High (and high-priced) options for spectators, SKY-BOX SEATS; 28. Rocker TED Leo; 30. Sc-fi villain, BOBA Fett; 31. They may be made with koa wood, briefly, UKES; 32. Course obstacle?, TEST; 33. Elasticity studier’s subj., ECON; 34. It’s canalized at Interlaken, AARE; 35. Boatload, SLEW; 37. Boatload transfer point, WHARF; 40. Mann’s “Man!”, ACH; 41. Eagle of Delight’s tribe, OTOES; 46. Group with the 1963 hit “South Street,” with “the”, ORLONS; 48. Obsolescence, DISUSE; 50. Moisturizer brand, NIVEA; 52. Cry accompanying a high-five, WE WON; 53. Treasured strings, AMATI; 54. Politico caricatured by Carvey, PEROT; 55. Start of Egypt’s official name, ARAB; 56. RENE Belloq, villain in “Raiders of the Lost Ark”; 57. Modern farewell letters, TTYL; 59. Air, MIEN; 62. Wood problem, ROT; 63. Title for knights on “Game of Thrones”, SER.

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04.25.14 — Passenger

Yuri Gagarin

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Friday, April 25, 2014

Puzzle by Joel Fagliano / Edited by Will Shortz

Across — 1. Take it easy, CHILLAX; 8. Vostok 1 passenger, GAGARIN; 15. Try, HAVE AT; 16. Supermodel Lima, ADRIANA; 17. Scale with the highest reading at midday, usually, UVI INDEX; 18. More than startle, TERRIFY; 19. Show horse, MR ED; 20. Juniors’ juniors, briefly, SOPHS; 22. Those, to Jose, ESOS; 23. Organ part, PEDAL; 25. Classic Jaguar, XKE; 26. Latin word in legal briefs, IDEM; 27. Princess Leia was one in “A New Hope:”, HOLOGRAM; 30. Bamboozled, HAD; 32. It’s nothing new, DÉJÀ VU; 35. Hot shot?, SEX SCENE; 37. Germany, to Britain, EX-ENEMY; 39. It helps you focus, RITALIN; 40. Unlocked area?, BALD SPOT; 42. Expenditure, OUTLAY; 43. T-shirt sizes, for short, SML; 44. Allstate subsidiary, ESURANCE; 46. One who deals with stress well?, POET; 48. Hat, slangily, LID; 49. Reuben ingredient, informally, KRAUT; 53. Completely dry, as a racetrack, FAST; 54. Rub it n, GLOAT; 56. Org. with the New York Liberty, WNBA; 57. BlackBerry routers, I PHONES; 59. “This statement is false,” e.g., PARADOX; 61. Strong and regal, LEONINE; 62. Elvis hit with a spelled-out title, TROUBLE; 63. Gallery event, ART SALE; 64. Sharp-pointed instruments, STYLETS.

Down — Sucker, CHUMP; 2. Where French ships dock, HAVRE; 3. Like many academic halls, IVIED; 4. Help, LEND A HAND; 5. “Cupid is a knavish LAD”: “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”; 6. Biographical data, AGES; 7. Love letters, XOXOXO; 8. One foraging, GATHERER; 9. Drinks stirred in pitches, ADES; 10. [Back off!], GRR; 11. Put on, AIRED; 12. Complain loudly, RAISE HELL; 13. Obsessive need to check one’s email or Facebook, say, INFOMANIA; 14. Cons, NAYS; 21. U.P.S. cargo: Abbr., PKGS; 24. Tennis smash?, LOVE SET; 26. Puzzle solver’s complain, I’M STUCK; 28. Punishment, metaphorically, LUMPS; 29. Hypothetical particle in cold dark matter, AXION; 31. Turn down, DENY; 32. Five-time U.S. presidential candidate in the early 1900s, DEBS; 33. School handout, EXAM PAPER; 34. Colorful party intoxicant, JELLO SHOT; 36. Shrill howl, CATERWAUL; 38. “Just wait …”, YOU’LL SEE; 41. Cream, for example, TRIO; 45. Changes for the big screen, ADAPTS; 47. Short jackets, ETONS; 50. “Watch AND BE amazed” (magician’s phrase); 51. It takes two nuts, U-BOLT; 52. Campaign issue, TAXES; 53. Nike rival, FILA; 54. Mil. Bigwig, GENL; 55. Like sour grapes, TART; 58. Long in Hollywood, NIA; 60. ROY Halladay, two-time Cy Young Award winner.

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04.24.14 — Four Syllables

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Puzzle by Stanley Newman / Edited by Will Shortz

EVERY ONE OF THE / CLUES HAS EXACTLY / FOUR SYLLABLES, plus all the clues, constitutes the main feature of this humdrum Thursday stunt crossword.

Other — ANGOLA (5D. Luanda’s land), CANTATA (52A. Bach choral work), HULAS and HUSTLE (9A. Grass shack dances; 9D. Disco line dance), LIFE BELTS (11D. Flotation gear), LOANER CAR (6D. Wheels for a while), OSCAR (51D. Trash can dweller), RALLYE (48D. Public-road race), RUNS AFTER (34D. Attempts to catch), TEN O’CLOCK (37D. Break time, perhaps), TEXTILE (23A. It may be felt).

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04.23.14 — The Mercury Seven

Back row:  Shepard, Grissom, Cooper; 

front row: Schirra, Slayton, Glenn, Carpenter in 1980.  

This was the only time they would appear together in pressure suits.

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Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Puzzle by David J. Kahn / Edited by Will Shortz

MERCURY / SEVEN (71A. With 1-Down, first American astronauts), along with WALLY SCHIRRA, GUS GRISSOM, ALAN SHEPARD, DEKE SLAYTON, SCOTT  CARPENTER, GORDON COOPER and JOHN GLENN constitutes the interrelated group of this Wednesday crossword.

Other — ACETALS (18A. Volatle solvents), ATROPHIED (21D. Weakened due to inactivity), ATTEMPT (63A. Stab), DOODLER (26D. School desk drawer?), ENTENTE (65A. International agreement), ERODING (15A. Whittling away), LOESSER (69A. “Luck Be a Lady” composer/ lyricist), NO REPLY (16A. Like some email addresses), ROCKET (9D. NASA vehicle), SENSORY (24D. Kind of perception), SPACE RACE (12D. Old U.S./Soviet rivalry), VAMOOSE (17A. Blow the joint), “I envy Seas, WHEREON He rides“: Emily Dickinson.

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04.22.14 — Tick Tock

The face of a W & H Sch grandfather clock 

at the Mannes Memorial Hotel in San Francisco 

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Tuesday, April 22, 2014 — Earth Day

Puzzle by Ed Sessa / Edited by Will Shortz

TICK TOCK TICK TOCK TICK TOCK found within six answers constitutes the main feature of this Tuesday  crossword:

TICKLED pink (17A.)
COMMON STOCK (23A. It’s not preferred for investors)
TICKED OFF (32A. Peeved)
MCCLINTOCK (42A. 1963 John Wayne comedy western)
TICKET BOOTH (48A. Spot at the front of a theater)
BUTTOCK (62A. Half moon?)

Other — COSEC and SINE (12D. Trig ratio; 28D. Reciprocal of 12-Down), EEKS and EKES, KAMPALA (1A. Capital of Uganda), Smoky-voiced Eartha KITT, LOOFAH (31A. Bather’s exfoliant), MOBSTER (42D. Tony Soprano, for one), NUTCASE (18A. Fruitcake), OPEN TOE (66A. Lke some women’s shoes), SCREENS (69A. What a multiplex has a multiplicity of), STUCCO (46D. Decorative wall covering).

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04.21.14 — Counterexamples

Monday, April 21, 2014

Puzzle by John Lieb / Edited by Will Shortz

Examples of counters, along with the clue of COUNTEREXAMPLES, constitutes the interrelated group of this make-of-it-as-you-will Monday crossword:

COUNTEREXAMPLES (58A. They disprove claims … or 17-, 23-, 38- and 47-Across, in a way?)
HOME PLATE UMPIRE (17A. Strike zone arbiter)
BANK MANAGER (23A. George Bailey in “It’s a Wonderful Life”)
BLACKJACK PLAYER (38A. One getting hit in Vegas?)
CENSUS TAKER (47A. Decennial taker)

Other — BATIK (7D. Tie-dye alternative), MOCCASIN (29D. Comfortable footwear), PRATFALL (19D. Buster Keaton specialty), SULTAN (45D. Ottoman bigwig), TEXACO (46D. Longtime sponsor of the Metropolitan Opera), ZAGAT (32D. Restaurant guide name since 1979).

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04.20.14 — The Magnolia Tree — the Acrostic

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Acrostic by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon

Edited by Will Shortz

This Sunday’s acrostic draws a quotation from Cross Creek, The Magnolia Tree by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.

Originally published in 1942, Cross Creek has become a classic in modern American literature.  For the millions of readers raised on The Yearling. Here is he story of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings’s experiences in the remote Florida hamlet of Cross Creek, where she lived for thirteen years.  From the daily labors of managing a seventy-two-acre orange grove to bouts with runaway pigs. ~ amazon.com

The quotation:  THERE IS NO SUCH THING IN THE WORLD AS AN UGLY TREE, BUT THE MAGNOLIA GRANDIFLORA HAS A UNIQUE PERFECTION.  NO MATTER HOW… THICKLY HOLLY AND LIVE OAK AND SWEET GUM MAY GROW UP AROUND IT, IT DEVELOPS WITH COMPLETE SYMMETRY… .

The author’s name and the title of the work:  RAWLINGS / THE MAGNOLIA TREE

The defined words:

A. Split into branches, RAMIFY
B. Artist with a zoo n New Orleans named for him, AUDUBON
C. Across, from side t side, WIDTHWISE
D. Habitat for most gorillas, LOWLAND
E. Insect marked with large ocellar spots (2 wds.), IO MOTH
F. Cultivate useful connections, NETWORK
G. Move in a loud, clumsy way, GALUMPH
H. Sound or appear jerky, as audio or video, STUTTER
I. Convoluted, tortuous, TWISTY
J. Play with soldiers in France (2 wds.), HENRY V
K. Sophisticated yet simple, ELEGANT
L. Tangly growth in a tropical coastal swamp, MANGROVE
M. Character, mood, environment, ATMOSPHERE
N. Bird whose male is vibrant yellow in the summer and olive-colored in the winter, GOLDFINCH
O. Camp outing for scouts (2 wds.), NATURE HIKE
P. Epoch of global ice expansion, OLIGOCENE
Q. Player in an early music ensemble, LUTENIST
R. Study of fossil tracks, burrows and the like, ICHNOLOGY
S. Ancient shipping container with a rounded shape, AMPHORA
T. Long tops to wear with leggings, TUNICS
U. Attractions for leaf peepers (2 wds.), RED MAPLES
V. Civil rights objective, EQUALITY
W. Annual even with a green theme (2 wds.), EARTH DAY

The complete paragraph of the quotation:  The tree was a magnolia, taller than the tallest orange trees around it.  There is no such thing in the world as an ugly tree, but the magnolia grandiflora has a unique perfection.  No matter how crowded it may be, no matter how thickly holly and live oak and sweet gum may grow up around it, it develops with complete symmetry, so that one wonders whether character in all things, human as well as vegetable, may not be implicit.  Neither is its development ruthless, achieved at the expense of its neighbors, for it is one of the few trees that may be allowed to stand in an orange grove, seeming to steal nothing from the expensively nourished citrus.  The young of the tree is courteous, waiting for the parent to be done with life before presuming to take it over.  There are never seedling magnolias under or near an old magnolia.  When the tree at last dies, the young glossy sprouts appear from nowhere, exulting in the sun and air for which they may have waited a long hundred years. ~ The Magnolia Tree, Cross Creek

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04.20.14 — On Wheels

Jay Leno behind the steering tiller of his 1909 Baker electric 

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Sunday, April 20, 2014

"On Wheels" — Puzzle by Elizabeth C. Gorski
Edited by Will Shortz

Eight automobile model names, CIVIC, SONATA, MUSTANG, SEVILLE, CHARGER, BEETLE, OPTIMA and FORESTER, found within eight across answers, along with two letter O’s beneath each model name representing tires, constitutes the main feature of this Sunday crossword.  

The across answers and their clues:

CIVIC PRIDE (23A. Attribute of Elks or Lions Club members)
HORN SONATA (25A. Recital piece for a wind player)
MUSTANG SALLY (34A. 1966 Wilson Pickett R&B hit)
BARBER OF SEVILLE (54A. Opera based on a  play by Pierre Beaumarchais, with “The”
SAN DIEGO CHARGER (76A. Qualcomm Stadium athlete)
BEETLE BAILEY (93A. Walker’s strip)
OPTIMA CARD (110A. Visa alternative)
C S FORESTER (112A. “The African Queen” novelist)

Other — Shakespeare’s “Titus ANDRONICUS”, BI-ANNUAL (102A. Like equinoxes), COLD CEREAL (46D. Quaker production), SCOTT TUROW (21A. Best-selling novelist whom Time called “Bard of the Litigious Age”), SLICES INTO (36D. Cuts, as a cake), SNOWY EGRET (43D. Bird whose feathers were once prized by milliners), TEAL BLUE (27A. Relative of turquoise)

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