The New York Times Crossword in Gothic

01.06.08 -- The Inside Dope

Sunday, January 6, 2008

THE INSIDE DOPE, Puzzle by Lynn Lempel, edited by Will Shortz

Synonyms for DOPE -- to wit, OAF, ASS, DODO, MORON, CLOD, DINGBAT, LOUT, SAP, CHUMP and DUNCE -- are "inside" the entries of COCOAFLAVOR (23A. Feature of some kids’ cereals); GASSTATION (29A. Regular provider); PLACIDODOMINGO (37A. Holder of the world record for the longest ovation on the operatic stage [80 minutes]); HUMORONESELF (60A. Let the mind believe what it likes); MASONICLODGE (76A. Bastion of brotherhood); READINGBATTERY (98A. Elementary school test package); FALLOUTFIT (109A. Dress for the return of cool weather); WORLDSAPART (117A. Not even close); PACIFICHUMPBACK (3D. Alaskan cruise sighting); and SEEMEDUNCERTAIN (46D. Wasn’t clear, as one’s future).

Across: 1. Kind of court; 6. Decorative inlay material; 11. Screening; 15. Took off; 19. Shooter’s target; 20. Facility; 21. What π may be used to find; 22. Much family history, e.g.; 25. Shelter supplies; 26. Feeling; 27. Rita Hayworth title role of 1946; 28. Monarch’s bane; 31. Bolix up; 32. Interior look; 34. Aniselike herbs; 35. “AMI dreaming?”; 41. W.W. II noncombatants; 43. Spirit; 44. Eremites; 45. “The Guns of August” figure; 49. Weekend warrior’s woe; 50. Grauman of Grauman’s Chinese Theater; 51. Swift gift; 52. Reagan attorney general; 53. Where you can feel the heat; 55. Part of a tennis racket; 57. Accusatory words; 59. H look-alike; 64. Parter of the waters; 65. Soyuz destination; 66. Governessy; 67. Covers up; 70. Behind; 72. Room sharer, often; 74. Group west of the Atlantic: Abbr.; 80. Uniters with 51-Down; 81. Hug and kiss, to a Brit; 83. Cracker topper; 84. Bird baked in a pie; 85. 1920s anarchist in a celebrated trial; 87. Some cottons; 91. Tennis’s Shriver; 93. Kierkegaard’s “The Sickness UNTO Death”; 94. “My Way” lyricist; 95. Mexican revolutionary MIGUEL Hidalgo; 96. Brush makeup; 97. Earth Day subj.; 102. Slice of history; 103. Approaches aggressively; 106. Portrait photographer Arbus; 107. Ralph GARR, 1974 N.L. batting champ; 111. Indeed; 113. Overdo it, in a way; 115. Requirement for some degree candidates; 116. RARA avis; 120. Dungeons & Dragons figure; 121. List ender; 122. Ones being shot at; 123.Heinrich who wrote “Atta Troll”; 124. Moneybags in “The Wind in the Willows”; 125. Comfy retreats; 126. Unpadded; 127. Synthetic fabric.

Down: 1. Grp. Influential in campaigns; 2. Wide-eyed; 4. Midway, e.g.; 5. Preliminary events; 6. Cowboys’ org.; 7. Bean who was the fourth man to walk on the moon; 8. Gave up at last; 9. Ran amok; 10. Add instead of subtract, e.g.; 11. Some tubes; 12. Lover boy?; 13. Lights; 14. Speeds up; 15. It’s sour; 16. Disney duck; 17. Documentary filmmaker Morris; 18. Gets off the bottle; 24. Title on a child’s bookshelf; 29. Object of a vain wait; 30. Lee who directed “Brokeback Mountain”; 33. Pay increase to keep up with inflation, in brief; 35. Up to one’s ears; 36. Former Portuguese colony in China; 38. Put right; 39. Core groups; 40. Piddling; 42. Title with a tilde; 47. Where Montferrato wine comes from; 48. Behind; 51. Uniters with 80-Across; 52. Finds at Pompeii; 54. Songlike; 56. Suffix with sheep or goat; 58. Soapstone, e.g.; 61. Mideast’s Gulf of OMAN; 62. Mauna LOA; 63. Firecracker parts; 68. Cabinet inits. Since 1947; 69. Show annoyance with; 71. Chef’s hat; 72. Sportsman of the Year co-winner of 1998; 73. IVAN the Great; 75. Like some electronics; 77. Politician’s projection; 78. Seminole’s archrival; 79. Virulent virus; 82. 1945 Colette novel; 86. Spread some holiday joy; 88. Quaint garden fixtures; 89. O.K.; 90. Where Napoleon planned his Hundred Days campaign; 92. Welds; 95. Reached the due date; 96. Helmsman; 99. That: Sp.; 100. “Do I have a volunteer?”; 101. Company whose production goes in cycles?; 103. Going on; 104. Load of ships?; 105. Santa CLARA, Calif.; 108. Rodeo competitor; 110. “The Nanny” actress Drescher; 112. Poor returns?; 114. Island-dotted lake of Northern Ireland; 117. Not fair; 118. Food additive; 119. TEL Aviv.

Comments, observations, et cetera: Many of the clues for common-word entries are border-line in their application, e.g., Brush makeup = SAGE; Unpadded = TERSE; Parter of the waters = OAR; Some tubes = MACARONI; Poor returns? = ALMS; Not fair = WET, and others. SNOG makes its second appearance this week after it’s much-noted debut. SPERM and OVA (see links for 80A and 51D) will unsettle some and titillate others. SOSA, RARA, ANKA, GIGI, ETTU, UNTO, ETAL, AGOG, COLA, lead the parade of two-syllable/two-consonant/two-vowel entries. It takes some doing to find a LOUIE link where he’s not posed with his fellow triplets, Huey and Dewey (see link for 16D). I can’t image what an 80-minute ovation must be like, other than biologically. The crossing with the most resounding thud -- SQUAB and TOQUE. The entry I had the biggest urge to give a link to, but resisted: 12D. Lover boy?, EROS.

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For today's cartoon, go to The Crossword Puzzle Illustrated.

The New York Times Crossword Puzzle solution above is by the author of this blog and does not guarantee accuracy. If you find errors or omissions, you are more than welcome to make note of same in the Comments section of this post -- any corrections found necessary will be executed promptly upon verification.

Puzzle available on the internet at

THE NEW YORK TIMES -- Crossword Puzzles and Games

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01.05.08 -- Listings

The Andrea Dorea, listing…

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Saturday, January 5, 2008

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Puzzle by Paul Gamache, edited by Will Shortz

Today‘s sentence: SKINNYBITCH TEACHERSPET ILLTREATS HETEROS with NASTYHABITS and CREWCUTS but SAVESTHEDAY for OXYMORONS!

Travels: LAKETAHOE, TITICACA, ELCAPITAN, SALINAS, SITKA, and BEREA.

Music: ILTROVATORE (15A. It’s featured in “A Night at the Opera”).

Across: 1. Saucily titled best-selling diet book; 12. Center starter?; 16. Tickled user’s response; 17. Target of a school bully; 18. CUL-de-four (hemisphere-shaped vault); 19. 3,280.84 ft.; 20. Suspect’s request: Abbr.; 21. Internet site graphics; 23. Chooses by divine election; 25. Ice remover; 26. Fig. On a 1970s dollar; 27. Enamel strengthener; 28. Has confiscated; 31. Slip fillers; 32. T preceder; 33. Alliance; 34. College bookstore stock; 35. Chateau HAUT-Brion (Bordeaux wine); 36. Arizona senator Jon; 37. Yes or no follower; 38. Abundant sources; 39. Lands in the Persian Gulf; 41. John of Lancaster; 42. Ben Jonson poem; 43. N.F.L. salary limit; 47. Like 1, but not I; 48. Rest; 49. Peggy of “The Dukes of Hazzard”; 50. Not be generous with; 51. They really ought to be kicked; 54. Next to nothing?; 55. Sign of stress?; 56. An alien may take it: Abbr.; 57. Is a hero.

Down: 1. University of Alaska Southeast campus site; 2. Anne of fashion; 3. ITALO disco (European dance music); 4. Reactor overseer: Abbr.; 5. Cry from a daredevil cyclist; 6. 1884 short story by Guy de Maupassant; 7. St. BARTS (Caribbean island, familiarly); 8. Wee, to a wee ‘un; 9. Foremost; 10. Private dos?; 11. They’re straight; 12. Yosemite Valley peak; 13. Dumped; 14. Harms; 22. Manhattan’s place; 24. Every month has one; 25. Ticket; 27. Babes; 28. Where Fredo Corleone gets shot; 29. Passive-aggressive and the like; 30. Common desiccant; 31. Kentucky college; 34. Body found high in the Andes; 35. Where to hang, in slang; 37. Steinbeck’s birthplace; 38. Apiece; 40. No Yankee fan; 41. Light into; 43. Governor who helped found Ohio State University; 44. Called out; 45. UnitedHealth rival; 46. Like plaster; 48. Suffix with super; 52. Explorer, e.g.; 53. Dating letters.

Incidentally, for better or worse, Amy “Orange” Reynaldo and Michael “Rex Parker” Sharp have established an orange carpet for crosswords -- see ACCA Awards for 2007.

Or here: The First Annual American Crossword Critics Association Awards!

Commentary in reference to some of their more than twenty mentions appearing in this blog in chronological order are listed below. I am not endorsing their choices, nor making any of my own:

12.29.07 -- Peripeteia Lost

09.24.07 -- Silents and Silence

09.20.07 -- The Old Man and the Sea

09.04.07 -- Leftovers ..........

05.27.07 -- Dinner Theater

05.24.07 -- Letter Box ..........

04.20.07 -- Dead Letter Office

04.02.07 -- Latin Lover

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Lists, lists, lists!

Of course, we all have our favorites!

List away!

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For today's cartoons, go to The Crossword Puzzle Illustrated.

Puzzle available on the internet at

THE NEW YORK TIMES -- Crossword Puzzles and Games

01.04.08 -- Windmill

Dutch Windmill Near Amsterdam, 1919 -- Owen Merton

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Friday, January 4, 2008

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Puzzle by Raymond C. Young, edited by Will Shortz

This is a crossword full of odds and ends that neither fit together, or for that matter, will be seen in any other puzzle. It’s easy to want to take a turn or two around this construction of words, the diagram (or grid) of which resembles a spinning windmill anchored by a black square in the center. Unlike recent diagrams encountered in NYT puzzles of the type, this diagram is wide open, and, of course, traveling from corner to corner is always helpful in solving.

Like two beams across the center of the windmill are the 13-letter entries, WHERESTHEFIRE (25A. “In a hurry, are we?”) and SCARESTHEHECK (30A. Makes a fraidy-cat [out of]); while two 12-letter entries cross to form a complement down the center, SLOANESTREET (13D. London locale of Prada, Dior, Gucci and Giorgio Armani) and SETSTHETABLE (17D. Gets ready for dinner).
Four 10-letter entries then radiate from the center of the windmill -- REAFFOREST (6D. Plant on after a wildfire, say); THEHEIRESS (24D. Olivia de Havilland film of 1949); ONESTRIPER (23A. Private); and PERPETRATE (32A. Cause).
Nine-letter entries fill much of the outer corners: Upper left, EPICTALES (16A. Relations of Homer?); MOVIEFONE (19A. Service for filmgoers); and STEADFAST (21A. Unwavering). Upper right, VAPORIFIC (8D. Producing some clouds) and INTHEPINK (9D. Fit). Lower right, EMAILLIST (34A. Modern marketing aid); EMBROIDER (41A. Decorate); and TELESCOPY (44A. Observatory doings). Lower left, WHARFRATS (25D. Pilferers from ships and port warehouses) and HARPERLEE (26D. Alabaman who wrote the Best Novel of the Century, according to a 1999 Library Journal poll).
Eight-letter entries, four in number, take a clockwise spin near the edge of the windmill, EASINESS (12A. Facility); NOHOPERS (10D. Ones without a chance in the world); DESCENTS (46A. Parts of mountaineering trips); and SCENEXII (28D. Part of Act IV where Marc Antony resolves to kill Cleopatra).
Fleshing out the windmill, the remaining across entries are 1. SCALAR, Like the reading on a thermometer; 17. IVINS, Molly, who wrote “Bushwhacked”; 15. CANOE, Camp sight; 18. UPTHE river; 20. OHOH, “I almost forgot …!”; 22. CREPE, Candlemas dessert; 28. SHAMES, Puts down, in a way; 29. HEMINS, Forensic indicators of the presence of blood; 33. INFER, Put two and two together; 40. KERR, Deborah who starred in “Tea and Sympathy”; 42. EXALT, Give praise; 45. TITER, Strength of a chemical solution; 47. VISES, Grippers; and 48. SHYEST, Having the most social anxiety.
Going down and around: 1. SEEMS, Could be; 2. CAPOT, Horse of the Year that won the 1949 Preakness and Belmont; 3. “ASIVE said many times …”; 4. LICIA, Soprano Albanese; 5. ANTED, Put in to start; 7. ICU, Post-O.R. post; 10. SEEHERE, “Now listen!”; 14. SENSES, Wits; 22. CRÈME de fraise; 27. EMEER, Foreign title meaning “commander”; 30. SPIKETV, “The first network for men” sloganeer, once; 31. HAMMED, Overplayed?; 35. Claudia LOSCH, Olympic gold medalist in shot put; 36. Tigres del LICEY, Dominican team that has won the Caribbean World Series nine times; 37. “What have IDONE?”; 38. SEPTS, Fall times: Abbr.; 39. TRYST, Meet away from prying eyes; and 43. TRS-80 (classic computer).

"The Windmills of Your Mind" -- Music by Michel Legrand

Lyrics by Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman

For a rendition -- "Windmills of Your Mind" performed by The Colourfield, video by Mano Kadosh

That’s all for this round!

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For today’s cartoon, go to The Crossword Puzzle Illustrated.

THE NEW YORK TIMES -- Crossword Puzzles and Games

01.03.08 -- High and Dry

29D. JINNI (Bottled spirit) -- illustration from Disney's "Aladdin"

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Thursday, January 3, 2008

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Puzzle by Henry Hook, edited by Will Shortz

The author of today’s puzzle, Henry Hook, is a sort of JINNI (29D. Bottled spirit). He’ll do what he needs to when it needs to be done -- I’m sure if his lamp gets rubbed a little now and then, he’ll pop out ready to grant a few wishes!

The Henry Hook crossword this Thursday is a beauty -- well, all his crosswords are, it’s probably just me that gets rubbed the wrong way -- but, he does have a way with words!

MORTONSALTGIRL (16A. Ad icon since 1914); PENGUIN (37A. Oswald Cobblepot’s nom de crime); MARYPOPPINS (11D. Caretaker for the Banks household); and CHAMBERLAIN (24D. Churchill predecessor) are the inter-related entries along with CARRYUMBRELLAS (56A. What 16- and 37-Across and 11- and 24-Down were all known to do).

Fine and dandy -- where did I get hooked today? Count JINNI for sure, along with the entire central portion of the puzzle and it’s nasty clever clues -- 34A. It could easily go up -- FIRETRAP; 29A. One may hold the mayo -- JAR (I had BLT); REUSE, 31D. Do something else with -- (I had WTF); and, unfamiliarity with Oswald Cobblepot. Anyone who says they know everything is a puerile prevaricator -- in today’s middle section, I knew nothing -- not even ARGON, or rather it’s definition -- 30D. Element whose name roughly means “lazy”.

I’ll not take you down the memory lane of the solution process -- I find it tedious to read of those trials and tribulations -- there’s so much more to doing a crossword puzzle than grasping a pen and gasping for breath while gaping at the clock! If those folk eat or drive the same way they do crosswords -- I’ll be left at the table alone and very gladly walk home!

TEEPEE (25A. Crow’s nest?) -- how do we spell this?; BLUENOSE (41A. Prig) -- must be a New England expression; REACTS (45D. Isn’t stoic) -- I wrote in SWEATS, I was in the sauna; PETSHOP (4D. Place to pick up a puppy) -- reminded me of a song; SPLEEN (12D. Ill will) -- seemed very Shakespearean; TOUSLES (43D. Dishevels) -- just wouldn’t come into focus; ANXIOUS (52A. Impatient) -- I’m not; XMAS (54A. Opening day?) -- hard clue, especially for someone who doesn’t get presents.

Other middle-sized entries -- SHIATSU (19A. Acupressure technique); ANNIE (5D) and ARCHIE (22A. Regular at Kelsey’s Bar, on TV); ATONE (32A. Mend); GREER (44A. “The Female Eunuch” author); MONET (47A. Cezanne colleague); BERGEN (48A. Recipient of a 1937 wooden Oscar); HOUSES (50A. Contains); HORSE (50D. Silver, for one) and WAHOO (28A. Rebel yell).

ROUE and MOUE (13A. Pleasure seeker; and 47D. Grimace), along with the Shortzesque twin-clued ARM and LEG (1D and 42D. Half a huge cost?) lead the clever four-letter parade of entries which are fresh or freshly clued -- ALEE, ALMS, APSE, ASAP, ATOP, AWAY, DAIS (63A. Roast setting), EARN, EAST, EELS, ESSE, IBIS, NICE, OHIO, PISA, PURE, RASA (23D. Tabula description), REAP, SCAT (7D. Ignore the lyrics?), SNAG, SOSA, TILE, TINE, and WETS.

Even the three-letter entries are a treat -- ARG, ASS, ETA, FEE, GBS, INE, JAR, LAO, LEI, OUR, PAW, REG, RNA, SAL, STA, TIE, TOO, TUT, WEE, YAM, and YEW.

Remember -- getting there is half the fun!

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For today's cartoon, go to The Crossword Puzzle Illustrated.

Puzzle available on the internet at

THE NEW YORK TIMES -- Crossword Puzzles and Games

Across: 1. Having surmounted; 5. Semicircular room; 9. Poor box contents; 13. Pleasure seeker; 14. Respectable; 15. Obtain; 20. Tree sacred to Druids; 29. One may hold mayo; 32. Mend; 33. “Hurry!”; 36. Candied side dish; 38. Boxer’s hand; 43. Backsplash component; 46. Bach’s “Partita No. 6 ___ Minor”; 51. ___ Paradise, protagonist of “On the Road”; 62. Antler feature; 63. Roast setting; 64. Big ___ Conference; 65. Reason to say “Now what do we do?”; 66. Being, to Brutus; 67. First batter to hit a home run against every Major League Baseball team. Down: 2. Unduly; 3. Lord’s Prayer start; 5. Musical with the song “Easy Street”; 6. Arno city; 6. Sniggler’s take; 9. Bol. Neighbor; 10. Ring around the collar?; 17. Allegheny + Monongahela; 18. Famous nine-year-old king; 21. Itty-bitty; 22. Vacationing; 26. Have coming; 27. Fraternity chapter; 34. Charge; 35. Undo a lead; 37. Untarnished; 39. Out of harm’s way; 40. Moistens; 44. Literary monogram; 49. Passing obstruction?; 53. Art class figure; 55. Everglades denizen; 57. Genetics abbr.; 58. ___ U.S. Pat. Off.; 59. Seven-faced doctor of film; 60. Ninny; 61. RR bldg.

01.02.08 -- The Case of the Missing Oboe

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

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Puzzle by Patrick Blindauer, edited by Will Shortz

CONNECTALLTHEOS (41A What to do after completing this puzzle, with four straight lines); CLARINET (20A With 59-Across, hint to this puzzle’s secret); RELATIVE (59A See 20-Across) results in an “O” bow -- read that as “Oboe”. Alas, a missing OBOE!

Technically, there is no OBOE in the puzzle. Well, almost -- OTOE (45A Chief Whitehorse, e.g.) could easily have been an OBOE if a LAT (36D 50 degs., maybe) had been a LAB (name your own clue), but alas, no OBOE… ! OBOE is probably one of the most common crossword puzzle entries used -- all the right letters for the right reasons -- today it’s the star!

A large supporting cast of common crossword puzzle entries are played on this “O” bow: LAPD, SPCA, IRON, AGONY, IRAN, CONN, FDA, UNE, MOT, LINE, ISERE, ENIDS, ARMS, EEE, ACH, UHOH, IDLE, ENOLA, NOES, DEAN, LENOX, ASST, ARID -- that’s just across. The familiar tunes going down are CHA, HOG, IPO, TINCT, LAIR, ATRIA, PLANB, SIC, CONDO, TACIT, ONION, TOTO, SASHA, ROMEO, ESSEN, ESTER, FAUNA, ELDER, DALAI, RENEW, HST, LOL, and Rocker AXL Rose!

With all of that, this puzzle is still SWELL (73A. Jim-dandy)!

So, what’s new? Well, the inclusion of both CHITA (1A. Rivera of the original “Chicago) and VERDON (56A. Gwen of the original “Chicago”) -- and that was too easy for me, as I saw the production in 1976. Went back a second time when Liza Minnelli appeared briefly in the show. It was the best musical that year, although it did not win an award for being so -- that was given to the dreadful “A Chorus Line” -- however, “Chicago” won the Oscar for Best Picture when it became a film in 2002.

PROFITEERED (11D. Made a killing, say) and TENNISSHOES (26D. Some court attire) lead the long entries, followed by ABRASION (27A. Souvenir from a bad trip?) and FOSTERED (52A. Promoted). After that, HOTTUB (24A. Honeymoon suite feature), DINERO (9D. Bread for burritos?) (was it yesterday we had DENIRO?); BEVELS (50D. Instruments for drawing angles); and ASYLUM (5D. Sanctuary) help fill all that blank space between “O”s.

Unusual O’s in the puzzle: OLOF (37D. Former Swedish P.M. Palme) threw me off, expecting OLAF. FOB (49A. “The Gift of the Magi” gift) caught me still thinking Christmas instead of O. Henry, but that is a Christmas story! ONE (65D. With 32-Across, a ball game) OCAT (32A. See 65-Down) doesn’t usually get both halves in a puzzle. OCHOS (53D. Spanish skating figures) drew a blank until I typed this and said “D’oh, go figure, figure eight!”

With the “O”’s as the oenomel of the puzzle, odd entries such as ABORC (21D. Multiple-choice choices), OREIDA Foods, Inc. (48D), and ROLO (35A. Chewy candy), the otiose HOG, IPO, CONDO, TOTO, LOL and others, are merely omnium-gatherum.

Okay!...let’s ENDAT (34D. Wrap up by) doing it with a du-“O”!

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For Jim H's view of today's crossword, go HERE.

For today’s cartoon, go to The Crossword Puzzle Illustrated.

Puzzle available on the internet at

THE NEW YORK TIMES -- Crossword Puzzles and Games

Across: 6. “Dragnet” force, in brief; 10. Org. for which a D.V.M. might work; 14. Southwestern sheepherders; 15. Mythical king of the Huns; 16. Press; 17. Unending pain; 18. Ayatollah’s land; 19. N.Y. neighbor; 23. Grp. That conducts many tests; 29. Le Figaro article; 30. Epigram; 33. “Come here often?,” e.g.; 38. River to the Rhone; 44. Children’s author Blyton and others; 46. Subject of illicit trade; 47. Japanese leader of the 1960s; 51. Ample shoe width; 58. Berlin cry; 61. “Yikes!”; 63. Like some hands; 64. ___ Gay (W.W. II plane); 68. Some votes; 69. Cain of “Lois & Clark”; 70. China company; 71. Secy.; 72. Dry. Down: 1. Half a dance; 2. Keep all to oneself; 3. New issue on Wall St.; 4. Color faintly; 6. Dragon’s ___ (early video game); 7. Central courts; 8. Alternative if things go wrong; 10. Order to attack, with “on”; 12. Individually owned apartment; 13. Former U.N. chief Kofi; 21. Multiple-choice choices; 22. Kind of approval; 24. Actor Tom of “Amadeus”; 25. Bialy flavorer; 28. Violinist Schneider, informally; 31. Curtain puller of film; 34. Wrap up by; 39. Beau; 40. City north of Cologne; 42. Any acetate, chemically; 43. Pope after John X; 52. Animals; 54. Cain vis-à-vis Abel; 55. ___ Lama; 57. Freshen; 60. Be inclined; 62. Post W.W. II pres.; 66. Response to a joke in an I.M.

01.01.08 -- 2008

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

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Puzzle by Adam G. Perl, edited by Will Shortz

Happy New Year!

The H of FOURH (38A Kind of club that’s a hint to this puzzle’s theme) is the last entry I made on this first crossword puzzle of the year 2008 -- a sort of “Oh, I see!” -- HEAD, HEART, HANDS, and HEALTH! The last time the 4H was in a Times puzzle that I recall was May 24, 2007 -- along with two other multiple-letter entries, 3D and 10K. Today, however, the Four H Club is the sole star on the first day of the New Year!

HEADINTHECLOUDS (17A Daydreamer’s state); HEARTOFDARKNESS (25A Joseph Conrad novella); HANDSONTRAINING (43A Vocational school instruction); and HEALTHINSURANCE (57A Common employment benefit) are the 15-letter entries completely spanning the diagram (or grid) from left to right. The FOURH entry presides in the center of the puzzle -- looking odd as a “word” even after it makes sense! Let’s hope we can also make sense of our world this coming year for the sake of our young, and for all of God’s creation.

For details on the 4H, its affiliations, extensions, et cetera, refer to Wikipedia -- HERE for 4H.

Across: 1. “Mamma Mia” group; 5. Play chauffeur; 10. Money to help one through a tight spot; 14. Either of two directing brothers; 15. All gone, as dinner; 16. Mayberry boy; 20. Directional suffix; 21. A choir may stand on it; 22. Good thing; 23. Sailor, colloquially; 24. Digit in binary code; 34. Edward who wrote the play “The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia”; 35. Pastor’s flock; 36. Rebellious Turner; 37. Vintage autos; 39. Prefix with lock or knock; 40. SNO-cone; 41. Colonial settlement; 42. Bobby Orr, notably; 46. Superannuated; 47. Ring outcome, briefly; 48. CARGO pants (multipocketed wear); 51. Room plus, in a hotel; 54. “Don’t ASK”; 60. Cleveland’s lake; 61. Enlarge a house; 62. Men-only; 63. “The World of Suzie WONG”; 64. Sierra LEONE, Africa; 65. Certain vanity plate for husband-and-wife cars.

Down: 1. Suffer from a charley horse; 2. Transvaal trekker; 3. Vanilla BEAN; 4. “What else?”; 5. “Meet the Fockers” co-star, 2004; 6. Hamelin’s problem; 7. “ITHE Jury” (Spillane novel); 38. Zig or zag; 9. S.A.S.E., e.g.; 10. Relax, as rules; 11. Berkeley Breathed comic strip; 12. Lieutenant; 13. Fit snugly; 18. Really hot under the collar; 19. Like Lincoln, in physique; 23. Uno + dos; 24. Straight: Prefix; 25. Hard on the ears; 26. “Maria ELENA” (Dorsey tune); 27. ABOON to mankind; 28. Taken wing; 29. Intimidate; 30. Station with a show; 31. The blahs; 32. Participated temporarily, as with a band; 33. Police con; 38. Victuals; 39. Florence’s river; 41. Letter-shaped opening for a bolt; 42. Harley rider; 44. Links bend; 45. Bring into harmony; 48. Stick of gum, e.g.; 49. Prefix with -postale; 50. Common Seattle forecast; 51. Slaw or fries, e.g.; 52. Reverse, on a PC; 53. “The shoe ISON the other foot”; 54. A couple of chips, maybe; 55. Injury reminder; 56. Purchases for a shindig; 58. HAL 9000, sci-fi computer; 59. Bit of air pollution.