05.24.15 — A Tale of Many Cities

Sunday, May 24, 2015

"A Tale of Many Cities" — Puzzle by Kevin G. Der

Edited by Will Shortz 

This Sunday’s crossword  is a mish-mash.  The note heading the puzzle is of no real help in solving the puzzle being an afterthought, over-long and a who-cares.

For the record, the note preceding the crossword reads “When this puzzle is completed, the circled letters will form a path (starting in the first circle of 93-Across) spelling out the puzzle’s theme. Each long Down answer contains a hidden city, reading in order from top to bottom, not necessarily consecutively. The location of the city, and its number of letters, are indicated.”

The feature referred to in the note is JULES / VERNE (1-Down and 141-Down), AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS (in circled letters throughout the puzzle beginning and ending at HELM), with the long down answers containing a “hidden” city (uncircled letters) -- think of the crossword existing without the over-wrought stunt and plod through this dreadful thing.  Or just forget it altogether.

The cities from left to right:

• SAINT FRANCIS COLLEGE (3D. Brooklyn Heights school), San Francisco
• THE NEW YANKEE WORKSHOP (31D. PBS craft show for 21 seasons), New York
• LETTING ONE’S HAIR DOWN (6D. Relaxing), London
• LEMON SQUEEZERS (75D. Ones pressed into service in the kitchen?), Suez
• BORN TO BE MY BABY (10D. 1988 Bon Jovi hit), Bombay
• SPECIAL COURT MARTIAL (39D. Military trial for a misdemeanor), Calcutta
• THE LONG KISS GOOD NIGHT (14D. 1996 Geena Davis thriller), Hong Kong
• YOU KNOW WHAT I’M SAYING (41D. “Get it?”), Yokohama

Other — BAGPIPES ((160A. They’re blown at some weddings), HELM (85A. Captain’s spot), HOT DATES (12A. Much-anticipated nights out),  MARATHON (148A. Long-running event?), OPEN BAR (43D. Popular party feature), STUD FARM (26A. Breeding ground), WONKY (67A. Not quite right).

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Puzzle available on the internet at
THE NEW YORK TIMES — Crossword Puzzles and Games.