12.06.09 -- Seeing Double

Identical twins, Roselle, N.J., Diane Arbus, 1967

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Sunday, December 6, 2009

DOUBLE BREAK POINT, Puzzle by Patrick Berry, edited by Will Shortz

Well, double break point is not a very common term if it is one; however, that is the title and an apt description of the interrelated entries of this sturdy, studious and stuttering Sunday stuttering, yet steady solve.

With GG, SS, TT, WW, PP, BB, RR, CC and DD (the double break point in nine two-word across entries), this crossword illustrates the amusing aspects of the language, both in the writing and the pronunciation -- CHANGING GROOMS (20. Deciding the best man is better, perhaps?), derived from the common changing rooms; SPORTS SCAR (25. Memento of an old athletic injury?), sports car; ASSAULT TRIFLES (32. Nitpicks?), assault rifles; NEW WAGER (52. Double or nothing, say?), new ager; TROOP PLEADERS (60. Begging soldiers?), troop leaders; LAB BRATS (67. Young scientists who are impossible to work with?), lab rats; CARPENTER RANTS (81. Things heard after thumbs are hit with hammers?), carpenter ants; ATOMIC CAGE (93. Holder of pet electrons, protons and neutrons?), atomic age; MIXED DEMOTIONS (100. Reductions in rank that aren’t entirely bad?), mixed emotions.

Other across: 1. Like mountains and maps, SCALED; 7. “The Lord of the Rings” dwarf, GIMLI; 12. Attack helicopter, COBRA; 17. 1930s heavyweight champ known as the Ambling Alp, CARNERA; 18. Choose not to cook, say, EAT OUT; 19. Plays at maximum volume, BLARES; 22. As yet unactualized, LATENT; 23. Where Caleb was sent as a spy, CANAAN; 24. Seaside bird, ERN (nicely crosses EGRET); 27. Suave competitor, PRELL; 28. Many a shipment to Detroit, STEEL; 30. Air play?, PASS; 31. Med. Care provider, HMO; 36. Uses as a source, CITES; 38. Like a foreboding sky, GRAY; 39. What white flour lacks, BRAN; 40. West Bank grp., PLO; 41. Majestic, STATELY; 45. Professorial material?, TWEED; 47. Bottom line?, FOOTER; 50. Sorters’ formations, PILES; 51. Architect of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, GEHRY; 54. Gambler’s declaration, I’M IN; 58. Hymn starter, GLORIA; 57. Like many rugs, WOVEN; 58. Keats’s “ODE on Indolence”; 59. Pickett’s Charge participant, REB; 62. Co. of which Howard Hughes became the principal shareholder in 1939, TWA; 63. ALA rigueur (literally); 64. Call before a football game, HEADS; 65. Manchester moms, MATERS; 66. Handle, GRIP; 69. Tips, LISTS; 70. View from Quai d’Orsay, SEINE; 71. Sir GARETH, nephew of King Arthur; 72. X-ray view, BONES; 73. Gave birth to a litter, WHELPED; 75. Triumphant cry, YES; 76. Kick in the rear, maybe, PROD; 77. Senate tie breaker, VEEP; 78. Country whose name means “warrior king”, GHANA; 87. Languish, ROT; 88. Water carrier, MAIN; 90. Maker of “the plow that broke the Plains”, DEERE; 91. Prostitute who protected Israelite spies, in Joshua, RAHAB; 97. Windup, END; 98. Pro PATRIA (for one’s country); 99. Get by somehow, MANAGE; 103. Key holders, PIANOS; 104. Spectacular autumn trees, ASPENS; 105. Up, ELEVATE; 106. Setting of Van Gogh’s “Café Terrace at Night”, ARLES; 107. Shy, SHORT; 1087. Adjusts for daylight saving, e.g., RESETS.

Down: 1. Large hot spot, SAHARA; 2. Heavy lifters, CRANES; 3. Archival material, ANALS; 4. They’re set for drinking and smoking, LEGAL AGES; 5. John-Boy Walton’s sister, ERIN; 6. Brown who wrote “The Lost Symbol”, DAN; 7. Earn, GARNER; 8. Skater Midori, ITO; 9. Farmyard chorus, MOOS; 10. Mattress problem, LUMP; 11. Come on in!”, IT’S OPEN; 12. School cards, CLASS CLOWNS; 13. Muesli ingredients, OATS; 14. "Mother Courage and Her Children” playwright, BRECHT; 15. Call again?, RENAME; 16. Minute Maid Park players, ASTROS; 17. Letters on old rubles, CCCP; 18. Great white EGRET (crossing ERN); 19. Lunch orders that are typically sliced in half, BLTS; 21. Los Angeles museum, with “the”, GETTY; 26. Coll. Dorm overseers, RAS; 28. Off, SLAY; 28. Tolerant of other opinions, LIBERAL MINDED; 33. It might have an extension: Abbr., URL; 34. James who wrote “A Million Little Pieces”, FREY; 35. Boyo, LAD; 37. Trace, IOTA; 40. Superheroes have them, POWERS; 41. Galaxy shape, SPIRAL; 42. Delay, TIME LAG; 43. “Arabian Nights” opener?, ALI BABA; 44. Olympics ideal, TEN; 45. Competitors of Wahoos and Tar Heels, TERPS; 40. It’s most useful when it’s cracked, WHIP; 47. Peggy Lee’s signature song, FEVER; 48. Vanity case?, EGO TRIP; 48. Médoc, for one, RED WINE; 51. Stock in trade, GOODS; 52. Stem joints, NODES; 53. Brought in, REAPED; 55. Hall-of-Famers, GREATS; 56. Reluctant, LOATH; 57. South Los Angeles district, WATTS; 60. 1986 film featuring Chevy Chase as Dusty Bottoms, THREE AMIGOS; 61. Affluence, EASE; 66. Cream alternative, GEL; 68. BRYN Mawr College; 69. Ankh’s top, LOOP; 70. Becomes layered while settling, SEPARATES; 72. Shaker’s sound, BRR; 73. “WE’RE here!”; 74. “Away From HER” (Julie Christie film); 76. Headwear also known as jipijapas, PANAMAS; 77. Colorado’s Mesa VERDE; 78. Rocking chair storyteller, GRAMPA; 79. Empty words, HOT AIR; 80. Keyless, ATONAL; 81. Pres. Title, CIC; 82. “You NEEDN’T bother!”; 83. Looks after, TENDS; 84. Best guide around town, probably, NATIVE; 85. Dewlap’s place, THROAT; 86. They’re all good, SAINTS; 89. Bullets, in Texas hold’em, ACES; 92. Dishonorable, BASE; 94. Horsehair source, MANE; 95. “Intolerance” actress Lillian, GISH; 96. Fair, EXPO; 98. Subway car feature, POLE; 101. Suffix with slogan, EER; 102. France’s Belle-Ile-en-MER.

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12.06.09 -- Complexity -- the Acrostic

"Galileo Galilei in front of the Inquisition in the Vatican 1632." Joseph Nicolas Robert-Fleury

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Sunday, December 6, 2009

ACROSTIC, Puzzle by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon, edited by Will Shortz

This is a tough but rewarding acrostic -- the quotation is from Complexity, A Guided Tour by Melanie Mitchell.

"The author, a denizen of the community of complexity researchers, provides an engaging introduction to the many interdisciplinary issues surrounding attempts at understanding how fantastic holistic attributes can arise from teems of underwhelming components -- how minds arise from simple neurons and cagey ant colonies from embarrassingly thick-headed individual ants. If Mitchell's book were required reading for undergraduate freshmen, I would anticipate a large surge in the number of students interested not only in complexity, but interested in science more generally. And not just more students, but students more exercised about what may lie ahead as they attempt to come to grips with nature." -- Quarterly Review of Biology

The quotation: GALILEO DID NOT HAVE THE SOPHISTICATED EXPERIMENTAL DEVICES WE HAVE TODAY HE TIMED THE SWINGING OF A PENDULUM BY COUNTING HIS HEARTBEATS AND MEASURED THE EFFECTS OF GRAVITY BY DROPPING OBJECTS OFF THE TOWER OF PISA

The author’s name and the title of the work: MELANIE MITCHELL COMPLEXITY

The defined words: A. Secret agent resourceful with a Swiss Army knife, MACGYVER; B. Sir Arthur Stanley EDDINGTON, astrophysicist who explicated general relativity; C. Responsibility of a gaffer, LIGHTING; D. Figure of speech exemplified by “Hello darkness, my old friend”, APOSTROPHE; E. Cry from Incitatus to Caligula, NEIGH; F. Product with the slogan “There’s an app for that”, IPHONE; G. Welsh festival of poetry and song, EISTEDDFOD; H. Do something to promote evolution?, MUTATE; I. Native of Moscow, IDAHOAN; J. Ill-fated lover of myth, THISBE; K. Signs of neglect or disuse, COBWEBS; L. Cocky, flamboyant expert, HOTSHOT; M. Lamb given to ruminating, say, ESSAYIST; N. Court official who may call out (2 wds.), LINE JUDGE; O. Memory bank malfunction, LAPSE; P. Wearing a hoodlike cap, COIFFED; Q. Elocute, spout, ORATE; R. Shakespearean character who was “from his mother’s womb untimely ripp’d”, MACDUFF; S. Utensils of a tinny sort, PEWTER; T. Turned the bow toward the wind, LUFFED; U. Peak known to locals as Chomolungma, EVEREST; V. Yellowish in hue, XANTHIC; W. Wall climber (2 wds.), IVY VINE; X. Where oxen walk along a canal, TOWPATH; Y. South American shrub whose leaves are brewed for a hot beverage drunk from a gourd (2 wds.), YERBA MATE.

The quotation in context -- "Galileo was a pioneer of experimental, empirical science, along with his predecessor Copernicus and his contemporary Kepler. Copernicus established that the motion of the planets is centered not about the Earth but about the sun. (Galileo got into big trouble with the Catholic Church for promoting this view and was eventually forced to publicly renounce it; only in 1992 did the Church officially admit that Galileo had been unfairly persecuted.) In the early 1600s, Kepler discovered that the motion of the planets is not circular but rather elliptical, and he discovered laws describing this elliptical motion.

"Whereas Copernicus and Kepler focused their research on celestial motion, Galileo studied motion not only in the heavens but also here on Earth by experimenting with the objects one now finds in elementary physics courses: pendula, balls rolling down inclined plans, falling objects, light reflected by mirrors. Galileo did not have the sophisticated experimental devices we have today: he is said to have turned the swinging of a pendulum by counting his heartbeats and to have measured the effects of gravity by dropping objects off the leaning tower of Pisa. These now-classic experiments revolutionized ideas about motion. In particular, Galileo’s studies directly contradicted Aristotle’s long-held principles of motion. Against common sense, rest is not the natural state of objects; rather it takes force to stop a moving object. Heavy and light objects in a vacuum fall at the same rate. And perhaps most revolutionary of all, laws of motion on the Earth could explain some aspects of motions in the heavens. With Galileo, the scientific revolution, with experimental observations at its core was definitively launched." -- Complexity, A Guided Tour

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12.05.09 -- Count

The presidential election of 2000 was decided, in essence, by the vote of one Supreme Court justice.

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Saturday, December 5, 2009

Puzzle by Brad Wilber, edited by Will Shortz

BUSH V GORE (30A. 2000 Supreme Court case hinging on the 14th Amendment) and SECRETIVE (46A. Not open) are the only two nine-letter entries in this Saturday crossword -- it was and is all downhill from there!

Eight -- DECREPIT (38D. Condemnable?); DETERRED (63A. Opposite of encouraged); EARLY AGE (66A. 6 or 7, but not 60 or 70); EX-YANKEE (15A. One who used to get Bronx cheers?); GROUP HUG (42A. Corporate retreat closer, perhaps); LIBEL LAW (33A. Tabloid publisher’s check); LOITERER (13D. Laggard); OKEY DOKE (37D. “You got it”); ROBOCALL (1A. Modern campaign element); SHERBETS (17A. Ice varieties); SIDE DOOR (12D. It may be used to avoid paparazzi); X-RAY EYES (68A. Producer of a piercing look).

Seven -- LES PAUL (8D. “Vaya con Dios” hitmaker, 1953); LET IT BE (7D. 1970 hit documentary); PER YEAR (45D. Annually); UV INDEX (44D. It drops to 0 after sundown).

Six -- AKIMBO (65A. One way to stand); ALLEGE (50D. Hold); BYE NOW (3.D “Later!”); GO GRAY (49D. Start developing achromotrichia); MODENA (36A. Maserati headquarters city); OPTION (16A. To be or not to be, e.g.); OX HIDE (2D. Leather type); POP DUO (62A. The Carpenters, e.g.); READ ME (47D. Common text file name); REST UP (1D. Recharge); RETEST (67A. Second chance in education?); ROADIE (18A. Band hand); SBARRO (39A. Alternative to Uno Chicago Grill); SLIDES (51D. Begins to fail); STALAG (11D. War film setting); TUSSLE (9A. Fracas).

Five -- AKELA (6D. Cubs’ leader); 64D. Ad ASTRA (National Space Society’s magazine); DEANS (56A. They work to maintain their faculties); INLET (21A. Mooring site); PEWIT (28A. Plover named for its call); SAGAS (48A. Trilogies, often); TINGE (29D. Soupçon); VW BUS (32D. Model featured in “Little Miss Sunshine”).

Four -- ADEN, AGAR, ATAD, BART (34D. TV character who says “I didn’t think it was physically possible, but this both sucks and blows”), CLIP, CNBC, EELY, EYRE, HASH, LIRA, MUSE, NERO (27D. First-century coup victim), NILE, NUBS, NYSE, ROLL, SOOT, TORI, UDON and UPON.

Three -- DSL, ENE, GLI, OAR and OER, OIL, PAR, RYE, TIN, UKE…

Is that everything?… How about a recount!

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Remaining clues -- Across: 19. Cigarette holder; 20. Money holder; 22. Japanese noodles; 24. Not muich; 26. Port annexed by Britain in 1839; 35. The Who’s “Love, Reign ___ Me”; 41. Arthur Godfrey played it; 52. “Notes on a Scandal” director Richard; 53. Old capital of 36-Across; 55. Undulate; 59. Frequent 5-Down topic; 61. Los : Spanish :: ___ : Italian. Down: 4. Sweeping instrument; 5. “Squawk on the Street” airer; 9. Bagels, e.g.; 10. Part of many British place names; 14. Navigation abbr.; 23. Where Aida sings “O patria mia”; 25. Upgrade from dial-up; 31. Jumble; 36. Cogitate; 40. Environment for multiplication, of sorts; 43. Covering for some wrestlers; 57. Worn-down pencils, say; 58. Film about a furnace; 60. Difficult to grasp; 62. Acceptable shooting?; 64. Kind of vodka.

12.04.09 -- THIS and THAT

These rocks from a granite body on upper Eyre Peninsula are 3150 Million years old - give or take a decade or two. (Geoscience Australia) 

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Art thou the first man that was born? or wast thou made before the hills? -- Job XV 7

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Friday, December 4, 2009

Puzzle by Martin Ashwood-Smith, edited by Will Shortz

Two sets of three 15-letter across entries are the main feature of this antediluvian this-and-that Friday crossword -- AS OLD AS THE HILLS (1. Antediluvian); THREE COURSE MEAL (16. It’s served in parts); OUT OF ONE’S LEAGUE (17. Completely unqualified for competition) -- TRUMPED UP CHARGE (50. Framing need); WATERLOO STATION (55. Railway terminus with the Victory Arch); OPENED ONE’S HEART (56. Became emotionally receptive).

Additionally, there are two sets of down entries of length (ten/nine/eight-letter) -- LEGAL LIMIT (13. Ceiling one should stay under); LAUREATES (14. Wordsworth and Tennyson); SLEETIER (15. More like a cold shower?) -- CONSTITUTE (26. Make up); DEATH TRAP (29. Perilous place); STAGE TWO (32. The second part).

An interesting analysis of the puzzle’s construction is at The New York Times crossword blog Wordplay -- HERE.

Remaining across -- 18. Introduction to Impressionism?, NEO; 19. It’s light-sensitive, IRIS; 20. Pains, CARE; 21. “The young lambs RAN A pretty race”: Wordsworth; 22. Sgt. Follower, MAJ; 25. Stop, with “up”, LET; 26. Cashiers, CANS; 27. “The Accumulation of Capital” author Luxemburg, ROSA; 28. “Love Story” score composer, LAI; 29. “Get cracking!”, DO IT; 30. Singer of the 1940s blues hit “One Meat Ball”, JOSH WHITE; 32. and 33. Remitted, SENT MONEY; 34. Like Old Glory: Abbr., AMER; 35. They may be excited by dinner, TASTE BUDS; 37. Partner of 40-Across, 40. Partner of 37 Across, THIS and THAT; 38. Case builder: Abbr., ATT; 39. PASO Robles, Calif.; 41. 4 letters, GHI; 42. Suffix with real, IST; 43. They often come in packs, LIES; 44. Moten who played Bess in Broadway’s “Porgy and Bess”, ETTA; 46. “MAN’S Fate” (Andre Malraux novel); 47. Scholarship, e.g., AID.

Down -- 1. Rafts, A TON; 2. “Molly” title role player, 1999, SHUE; 3. “ … OR TO go?;4. One may be conceived on Veterans Day, LEO; 5. Challenging, DEFIANT; 6. Certain winter stash, ACORNS; 7. One of the Gandhis, SONIA; 8. Part of Shrovetide: Abbr., TUES; 9. Abbr. on a timecard, HRS; 10. What an au pair might take: Abbr., ESL; 11. Laugh syllable, HEE; 12. Big name in desktops, IMAC; 21. Singer with the 5x platinum album “Nick of Time,” 1989, RAITT; 22. Ancient law man, MOSES; 23. Wan, ASHY; 24. Jabber, JAW; 27. Concerto part, RONDO; 30. Competition among mail carriers?, JOUST; 31. Music to a comic’s ears, HAHAS; 33. Many corp. recruits, MBAS; 36. Dermal opening?, EPI; 37. Leader exiled in 1979, THE SHAH; 40. Dyes, TINCTS; 43. Judgment problem, LAPSE; 45. Music to a minister’s ears, AMEN; 46. Unstable particle, MUON; 47. Price number, ARIA; 48. Real-estate tycoon, Olenicoff, IGOR; 49. Bit of headway, DENT; 51. Grand PRE (Annapolis Valley community); 52. Antiquity, in antiquity, ELD; 53. End of a Fred Flintstone cry, DOO; 54. Put the dishes away, ATE.

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12.03.09 -- Getting There Is Half the Fun!

Ovid Banished from Rome, J. M. W. Turner, 1838

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Thursday, December 3, 2009

Puzzle by Matt Ginsberg and Pete Muller, edited by Will Shortz

ROME contained within the center square of today’s crossword puzzle, along with ROADS (7D. There are four hidden in this puzzle, which together suggest a familiar five-word saying (3, 5, 4, 2, 4), e.g., ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME and the diagonal convergence in the center of the otherwise unclued LOGGING, PRIVATE, WINDING and UNPAVED, are the interrelated group of this excellent Thursday crossword.

O(ROME)O (36D. Cry from Juliet) and DENVE(ROME)LETTE (37A. Dish with ham) share the Roman square. Other entries of length in this rich-in-variety crossword include EOHIPPUS (40D. Ancestor of the modern horse) “Quo vadis eohippus?”, LAGGARDS (20A. Slowpokes), NO-GO AREA (17A. Restricted zone), REGARDED (3D. Seen), STAR MAPS (59A. Observatory references) and URBAN POP (64A. Michael Jackson genre).

Seven-letter -- AGE GAPS (30D. Features of May-December marriages), ITCHIER (31A. More eager), NELSONS (43D. Holds on a mat), KRISHNA (45A. Hare follower), SHIELDS (21D. U.S.S. Enterprise defenses) and TOO LATE (2D “You missed it“).

Six -- ARTIST (19A. Temperamental one, supposedly); AVAILS (55A. Uses); EARBOB (49D. Bit of jewelry); GOETHE (35A. Author of “Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship”); IF ONLY (47D. Words of regret); KONICA (61a. Classic camera); KRAKOW (45D. Polish capital, 1038-1596), MARY II (23A. English monarch who shared the throne); 8A. “NO SOUP for you!” (“Seinfeld” refusal); OIL RIG (66A. It’s well-positioned); OUI OUI (11D. “Absolument!”); PETTER (13D. Attentive dog owner); RENOIR (46D. “La Grenouillère,” e.g.); SEA GOD (41A. Trident wielder, typically); SECURE (16A. Lock up); SPRAIN (5D. Sidelining cause); URSINE (12D. Bearish); WRYEST (69A. Most twisted).

The rest of the journey is laden with treasures --- A AND E (56D. Cable choice), ACHT (26D. Zweig x vier), AGIO (18D. Exchange premium); AGT, ARCO (60D. Not pizzicato); CIS, DEEM, DIRE, DUNE (68A. Buggy locale?), EMS, “Mi casa ES SU casa”, ETTE (25D. Little: Suffix); GOB, HEM, HETH (32D. The “H” in Hanukkah); HONE, ILER, ISPS, “IT’D be my pleasure“, LPN, LTRS, MESS, MID, NCO, NEHI (38D. Radar selection), NSA, “O’ER the hills and far away”, ONA, PEU (65D. Little, in Lille), PLO, POET (14A. Virgil, for one), REF, SET, SCTV, SHEA, SIR, STOGY (4D. Howard the Duck prop), STUNG (54D. Scammed), TVMA, UNE (27A. A in Alsace), VANS, VOIT.

A little trouble along the way? No matter… great scenery and lots of adventure, for after all --

 “Getting there is half the fun!”

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SANTA

1881 illustration by Thomas Nast who, with Clement Clarke Moore, helped to create the modern image of Santa Claus 

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Santa, Puzzle by Fred Piscop, edited by Will Shortz

If you subscribe to The New York Times on-line Premium Crosswords, you are probably familiar with the monthly bonus puzzle. For December, the title of this month’s merry crossword is "Santa" and features Santa in approximately 30 clues.

Across: 1. Santa’s gift to a naughty child; 15. Missile detection org. that “tracks” Santa; 20. Italian tenor who sang “Santa Lucia”; 23. Fred who narrated “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town”; 28. Santa BARBARA (California city with a Riviera); 32. Site of the wreck of the Santa Maria; 36. Santa helper; 41. Zadora, whose first movie was “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians”; 42. “OLIVE, the Other Reindeer” (1999 animated TV movie); 43. “I Saw MOMMY Kissing Santa Claus”; 44. Santa Claus, INDIANA 47579; 48. Niña or Pinta, but not Santa Maria; 63. Tim of “The Santa Clause”; 64. Schmutz on Santa’s suit; 65. “Here Comes Santa Claus” singer Autry.

Down: 1. Santa CLARA (Intel headquarters city); 3. How Santa’s sleigh goes on December 24; 4. Department store Santa visitor’s perch; 7. New Mexico town on the Santa Fe Trail; 8. Santa ANA winds; 9. “On the Atchison, TOPEKA and the Santa Fe”; 14. Part of a Santa suit; 39. Santa Anna siege site; 40. Santa ROSA (Sonoma County seat); 45. Member of Santa’s team; 48. Cristóbal COLON (Santa Maria’s captain, to Isabella); 49. One of Santa’s team; 50. Ecuador’s Santa ELENA Bay; 53. Santa’s time of year; 54. “ … and to ALL A good night” (parting words from Santa).

You better watch out,

You better not cry,

Better not pout,

I'm telling you why:

Santa Claus is coming to town.

He's making a list,

And checking it twice;

Gonna find out

Who's naughty and nice.

Santa Claus is coming to town.

He sees you when you're sleeping.

He knows when you're awake.

He knows if you've been bad or good,

So be good for goodness sake!

Oh, you better watch out!

You better not cry.

Better not pout,

I'm telling you why:

Santa Claus is coming to town.

Santa Claus is coming to town!

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12.02.09 -- Woo Hoo!

Wailing Banshee, Walt Disney’s Darby O'Gill and the Little People, 1959

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Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Puzzle by Jack McInturff, edited by Will Shortz

HASTE MAKES WASTE (62A. Advice to the rash and a hint to this puzzle’s theme), PICTURE OF WEALTH (17A. Bill Gates snapshot?), SO PROUDLY WE WAIL (28A. Banshees boast?), BASE WIT (39A. Comedic soldier during training?) and HEAD FOR THE WILLS (47A. Words to estate attorneys?) are the interrelated group of this Wednesday crossword.

Mid-size entries include ADOPTED (44D. Like Steve Jobs and Moses), ARLENE (66A. Francis of “What’s My Line?”), HASBRO (8A. Monopoly maker), HOW NOW (8D. Start of an elocution class phrase), OLD MEN (48D. Codgers), O’SHEA’S(16A. Irish-themed Vegas casino), SHADOWY (10D. Hard to make out), SLUGGO (4D. Nancy’s friend in the funnies), TIED ON (69A. Attached, in a way), WIN WIN (50D. Like a good deal for both sides).

Five-letter -- ANSEL (32D. Adams who co-founded Group f/64), IDYLL (33D. Pastoral piece), LADES (34D. Does dock work), LIEUT (31D. Kojak’s rank: Abbr.), LYNDA (37A. Actress Carter who was once Miss World USA), N-TEST (58A. Mushroom producer, for short), OAKIE (29D. Jack of “The Great Dictator”), PINTA (46D. Nina companion), PLAN A (30D. Primary strategy), SELIG (20A. Baseball’s Bud), SINAI (43A. Ten Commandments locale), SLASH (28A. More than just reduce), TIARA (18D. Item often worn with a sash).

Short stuff -- ADES, AGHA, AIR, AKA, ANTI, ASE, BELA, BIFF, CHAT and CHIP, DATA, DJS, ENE and ENO and ENOS and ESSO, FEE, FOGY, GELT, GOGO, Mata HARI, HULA (24D. Storytelling dance) and LEI, (36A. Pikake garland), ILEA ISLE, LAIN, LALA, NACL, OBI, ODIE, OFLA, OSHA, PELE, RAJA, RATT, SAFE (4A. In an ark, say), SKAT, SON, STE, STUB (60D. Bit of theater litter), SUR, SYD, TEEN (70A. New driver, typically), TERI, TIPS, TON, UAL, WAHL.

Woo Hoo! 

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11.29.09 -- Puns & Anagrams

Sun and Moon Pagodas, Guilin, China, photograph by Kevin KL 

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Sunday, November 29, 2009

PUNS AND ANAGRAMS, Puzzle by Mel Taub, edited by Will Shortz

This type of puzzle is a play on words and this puzzle is indeed cryptic. Every clue is, well, either a pun or an anagram. This Sunday's perfect example is not without a groan or so when the answer materializes, and even then when the answer appears only from crosses, it can remain a mystery.

Across: 1. Where worshipers, with much ado, gasp, PAGODA; 8. Separate verse, SEVER; 13. Violinist and heathen in one, PAGANINI; 14. One who fits in the Rialto, TAILOR; 16. Nine seas, somehow, IN A SENSE; 17. Peace’s way out, ESCAPE; 18. Writes in “Sterne”, ENTERS; 19. Vinancial vorveit, VINE; 21. 21. Diamondback, MEG; 22. I, sir, was a muckraker, RIIS; 23. Making HENS meet (goal of a chicken social network); 24. W = E, WISE; 25. Any 100 yrs., CEN; 26. Vulgar scars, CRASS; 28. Reached ingot, GOT IN; 29. Satire with a new hero, EREWHON; 31. Re TNT or flood, TORRENT; 33. Rear deer, HIND; 34. Down with Arabians rejecting Iran: Fr., ABAS; 35. Transportation in a bad epic, PEDICAB; 38. Raises making Stu flip, LIFTS UP; 42. Orate about a figure in myth, ERATO; 43. Shoelace part at Gate 50, AGLET; 45. Girl in Monaco, ONA; 46. It gives me an identity, NAME; 47. Symbol for adding up: Sl., PLUS; 48. Camels ‘ave ‘em, UMPS; 49. He’s a peasant at heart, ASA; 50. Country a long way from Lima, MALI; 51. Who did Ana see in Troy?, AENEAS: 53. Small lump of egg & nut, NUGGET; 55. Real score of zero in tennis, TRUE LOVE; 57. Agrees it can spatter on a stove, GREASE; 58. In re rail service, it’s an alternative, AIRLINES; 59. He makes the grade, EDGAR; 60. Like the food Rod eats, ROASTED.

Down: 1. Could Anne rip basket?, PANNIER; 2. Like a stone for Anita, e.g., AGATINE; 3. What sages use for heating, GASES; 4. Difference between a Barron and a baron, ONER; 5. Things heard in stadiums, centrally, DINS; 6. T or F, in San Jose, ANS; 7. Strains to see one palindromic girl around another, SIEVES; 8. They’re found in machine gun nests, STENS; 9. See a way to comfort, EASE; 10. Tim’s companion, VIC; 11. Who did Ali meet long ago?, ELAMITE; 12 Manages to get one person, ROPES IN; 13. President Gore, PIERCE; 15. Concerning chap who is a university V.I.P., REGENT; 20. Where stabled horses are found, INSTALLED; 23. H & O, HANDBALL; 24. Defeat “W.” sort, WORST; 26. Smart, with nothing to suggest a Marx brother, CHICO; 27. Friend of Nora, RONA; 28. Contemporary of J. Cagney and H. Bogart, GRAFT; 30. Isle of WHITE (Antarctic atoll); 32. Award for obstetrics, I.e., OBIE; 35. Where Ann & Peg met in Malaysia, PENANG; 36. Use rare elimination, ERASURE; 37. Injured as mother got older, DAMAGED; 39. Unknown person on moon, see?, SOMEONE; 40. How might a country road in Va. End up, UNPAVED; 41. Spares a quarterback, at times, PASSES; 44. What kind of string did Ira tug?, GUITAR; 47. Parent, mostly, PATER; 48. Until a lamp goes on, it’s this, UNLIT; 50. It’s almost the same as a plateau, MESA; 51. Austria? It’s lacking atmosphere, AURA; 52. Lee’s fish, EELS; 54. Choke on a joke, GAG; 56. City that’s patriotic to the core, RIO.

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Puzzle available on the internet at

THE NEW YORK TIMES -- Crossword Puzzles and Games.

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12.01.09 -- Break FAST

Breakfast, THE PUBLIC ENEMY (1931): After spending a night doing whatever it is small-time gangsters do, Tom Powers (a snarling James Cagney) has heard just about enough from his girlfriend Kitty (Mae Clark). Nothing says ''please be quiet'' like a grapefruit in the face.

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Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Puzzle by Jonah Kagan and Victor Fleming, edited by Will Shortz

BREAKFAST (56A. Part of a morning routine … or a literal hint to 18-, 22-, 35- and 49-Across), FAIRY DUST (18A. Golden egg layer of story), FALCON CREST (22A. 1980s soap opera set at a winery), FATHER KNOWS BEST (35A. Homecoming returnees, for short), FALL HARVEST (49A. Occasion for pumpkin picking) are the interrelated group of this Tuesday crossword.

Food and drink -- ALE (64A. Drink with a head), CARAFE (1D. Wine container) and CASKS (25D. Wine containers), DINED (63A. Ate in high style), ELBOW (9A. Macaroni shape), 61A. MOO goo gai pan, RUMS (27D. Jamaica exports), TIE ONE ON (37D. Get stewed).

People, animals, etc. -- ALEX (36D. The “A” in A-Rod); ALLEN (14A. Steve who was called Steverino); ALOMAR (2D. Six-time baseball All-Star Sandy); ALUMS (34A. Homecoming returnees, for short); AMIE (20A. French lady friend); ASNER (34D. Ed who played Lou Grant); 56D. George Thorogood stutter “B-B-B-B-BAD …”; GOOSE (16A. Golden egg layer of story); LLAMA (51D. Andean animal); ORCA (55A. Killer whale); RAS (19D. Univ. dorm supervisors); ROOST (17A. Rod in a henhouse); 41A. Alfred P. SLOAN Foundation.

Places -- BOUTIQUE (11D. Chic shop), CAIRO (1A. City near the Great Sphinx) and EGYPT (9D. 1-Across is its capital); EAST (28D. Atlantic Seaboard states, with “the”); ILO ILO (3D. Repetitively named Philippine province); NCAR (24D. Tenn. Neighbor); ONT (5D. Ottawa’s prov.).

Other -- ABOVE (60A. Not deigning to consider); AVERT (62A. Turn away); EROTICA (29A. Blue literature), ESCORT (46D. Front car in a motorcade); EVOLVE (44D. Change over time); E-ZINE (8D. Net mag); FAKED (49D. Not real); FLOOR (59A. Knock the socks off); ILIAD (40A. Tale of Troy); LASES (31A. Cuts with light); LYSOL (52D. “Disinfect to Protect” brand); NEARLY (53A. Almost); NESTS (65A. Fits one inside the next); OILED (23D. Like some smoothly running machines); RE-AIR (7D. Show again); RESECT (4D. Take out surgically); SOOTH (33D. Truth, old-style); STARTS (47D. Turns on, as a car); TWEEZES (43A. Plucks, as eyebrow hairs); ZEROES (45D. Homes in on).

Short stuff -- ALB, AQUA, ARF, EAVE, ENL, EXO, FAN, FEZ, FIRER, HAD, IRE, LODE (10A. Mine treasure) and ORE (6D.A. Mine treasure), OFF and OSS, REED, RBI, TOE, WAWA, WET.

For breaking up at breakfast, HERE.

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

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Puzzle available on the internet at

THE NEW YORK TIMES -- Crossword Puzzles and Games.

If you subscribe to home delivery of The New York Times you are eligible to access the daily crossword via The New York Times - Times Reader, without additional charge, as part of your home delivery.