07.19.09 -- You Are There

19th century coal miners would traditionally take canaries in cages down into the mine with them. The birds would act as an early warning system for carbon monoxide gas. When the canary stopped singing the miner would know that he had to escape the chamber he was in. This particular yellow canary was obviously a favored pet as well as a working bird. Inscribed with the legend : 'In Memory of Little Joe. Died November 3rd 1875. Aged 3 Years' (from
The British Antique Dealers' Association via the blog Dream Tree)
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Sunday, July 19, 2009
YOU ARE THERE, Puzzle by Lynn Lempel, edited by Will Shortz
A slog-of-a-solve Sunday puzzle, non-too-LIMPID (66D. Clear) and a bit LIMP (66A. Droopy), in which the insertion of the letters U & R together into "by all accounts, fry cook, C-rations, sine wave, oh my god, holy matrimony, canary in the mine, town without pity and cried wolf" results in the interrelated entries of BURY ALL ACCOUNTS (24A. Corrupt financier’s command?); FURRY COOK (30A. Mama Bear at the stove?); CUR RATIONS (54A. Alpo or Purina One?); URSINE WAVE (72A. Greeting from Smokey the Bear?); OH MY GOURD (92A. Pumpkin grower’s cry of surprise?); HOURLY MATRIMONY (101A. Scheduled activity at a Vegas chapel?); 3D. CANARY IN THE MURINE (3D. Songbird at an eye drops factory?); TOWN WITHOUT PURITY (34D.Sodom or Gomorrah?); CURRIED WOLF (40. Triumphant spicy meal for the Three Little Pigs?).
The remaining across entries and clues -- 1. Where to spot a king or queen, DECK; 5. USDA-approved; 9. Ridicule, GIBE; 13. Part of a college application, ESSAY; 18.
Socialite with a self-named perfume, IVANA; 20. Versatile body builders, STEM CELLS; 22. Two-door, COUPE; 23. Lord’s home, MANOR; 28. Grocery store lineup, CARTS; 29. Trading post buys, PELTS; 29. Frequent figure in Renaissance art, SAINT; 32. Part of 5-Across: Abbr., DEPT; 33. U.R.L. start, HTTP; 37. Starfish feature, RAY; 38. “Catch-22” bomber pilot, ORR; 38. Crowning point, ACME; 42. View ruiner, EYESORE; 44. Disputed, AT ISSUE; 47. Pets with dewlaps, IGUANAS; 48. Like Larry King, repeatedly, REWED; 50. Coaches, MENTORS; 51. Word with beauty or pizza, PARLOR; 52. Dumber than dumb, INANER; 53. Heat, ESTRUS; 56. Sanctioning assn. for pugilists, WBO; 57. Like many a 21-Down, HEP; 58. Percussion instrument in Off Broadway’s “Stomp“, POT; 59. Topic in transcendentalism, IDEALS; 60. Members of la familia, TIOS; 61. Familiar flight pattern, VEE; 62. Painter Andrea DEL Sarto; 63. Critical, KEY; 64. Toxic spray, DDT; 65. Give IT A shot; 67. In high esteem, VALUED; 69. U.S.S. Enterprise title: Abbr., ENS; 70. Certain power, NTH; 71. Post-O.R. location, ICU; 74. Happy shouts, WAHOOS; 77. Good points, MERITS; 79. Pair of opposite electric charges, DIPOLE; 80. Best Actress nominee for “Indochine”, DENEUVE; 81. Singer John with the album “Bruised Orange”, PRINE; 82. Bacchus, notably, REVELER; 83. Agitated, IN A STEW; 84. “The Bald Soprano” dramatist, IONESCO; 86. Schnauzer sounds, ARFS; 87. Poet Hughes, TED; 89. Cursor attachment?, PRE; 89. Some food additives, DYES; 90. Integral subj., CALC; 95. “No problem!”, CAN DO; 97. Something made in the still of the night?, BOOZE; 100. Above: Lat., SUPRA; 106. Like “Have a nice day!”, TRITE; 108. Greek moralizer, AESOP; 109. What drives you to get better?, AMBULANCE; 110. Fills to the gills, SATES; 111. Waxes, GROWS; 112. Exam with 125 questions: Abbr., PSAT; 113. Bygone depilatory, NEET; 114. Douglas HYDE, first president of Ireland.
Down -- 1. Unfavorable, DIM; 2. Clears, EVACUATES; 4. Popular brand of bouillon, KNORR; 5. Kind of port for a PC, USB; 6. Daze, STUPOR; 7.
DEREK Walcott, 1992 Literature Nobelist; 8. AMYL nitrite; 9. Gets set, GELS; 10. Unfavorable, ILL; 11. Indifferent, BLASÉ; 12. Hatches, say, ESCAPES; 13. Capital subj., ECON; 14. From Polynesia and environs, SOUTH SEA; 15. Globe : Boston :: SUN : Baltimore; 16. Inclined, APT; 17. Happy shout, YES; 19. Bohemian, ARTY; 21. Cool sort; CAT; 25. Part of 85-Down, CITY; 27. Searches high and low, SCOURS; 30. Curator’s selection, FRAME; 31. Some have a silver lining, ORES; 32. Mean, DENOTE; 35. Snake with “lightning bolts” on its back, TREE BOA; 36. Baseball’s Martinez and others, PEDROS; 39. Culture medium, AGAR; 41. Affliction, MALADY; 43. Relatives of kites, ERNS; 45. Movie star with the most Oscar nominations, STREEP; 46. Starter, perhaps, SOUP; 47. I PUT a Spell on You” (classic 1956 Screamin’ Jay Hawkins song); 48. King Minos’ daughter who aided Theseus, ARIADNE; 52. Sch. Or hosp., INST; 54. Disagree strongly, COLLIDE; 55. Pioneer automaker, OLDS; 58. Fried rice ingredients, PEAS; 60. Some church income, TITHES; 61. Christopher Columbus, in the Indies, VICEROY; 62. TiVo’s, e.g., DVRS; 63. Big-enough catch, KEEPER; 68. First commercially successful computer, UNIVAC; 69. Sometime, EVER; 70. Darling family pet, NANA; 72. Early Coloradans, UTES; 73. Draft picks, ALES; 74. “Quality Is Our Recipe” franchise, WENDYS; 75. Not as good as claimed, OVER-RATED; 76. Worked on a shift, maybe, SEWED; 78. Held for later disbursement, as funds, IN ESCROW; 80. Ngo Dinh DIEM, South Vietnam’s first president; 82. Plan of action, ROAD MAP; 85. Scholl inits. In Harlem since 1907, CCNY; 97. From that point on, THENCE; 91. Earthy mixtures, LOAMS; 92. Radiation reducer, OZONE; 93. Kishkes; GUTS; 94. Big name in daytime TV, OPRAH; 96. Liechtenstein’s locale, ALPS; 97. Very dry, BRUT; 98. Biggest eport of 99-Down, OIL; 99. See 98-Down, OMAN; 101. Witch, HAG; 102. “Give O'ER the play”: “Hamlet”; 103. Show presenter, for short, USO; 104. “More later,” on a sched., TBA; 105. Still, YET; 107. Legal conclusion?, ESE.
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