07.10.10 — The Harder They Come



Saturday, July 10, 2010

Puzzle by Joe DiPietro, edited by Will Shortz

With clues from Hell itself and resulting entries of the viscous variety, this bruising Saturday crossword shows no mercy, but to reverse an idiom, the harder they come, the bigger they fall…

Across: 1. Stock maker’s addition, SOUP BONE; 9. Field’s pair, OSCARS; 15. Site of a college stadium that seats over 100,000, ANN ARBOR; 16. Skier’s spot, CHALET; 17. Not taken in, YET TO SEE; 18. Stick on, in a way, TAPE TO; 19. Count on greens, STROKES; 20. You might have one after spraying yourself, FAKE TAN; 21. Kvetch, MOANER; 22. It’s above 90, A AVERAGE; 23. Share letters?, OTC; 24. Big hand, OVATION; 26. Endings to some letters, for short, PSS; 27. Mr. REE (old mystery game); 28. Intense excitement, FEVER; 29. Fulfillment, END; 30. Looney Tunes animator Fritz FRELENG; 33. Pugilists’ org., IBF; 36. Up, RISEN; 37. Firing squad?: Abbr., NRA; 38. Spots before one’s eyes?, ADS; 41. Big pistol maker, BERETTA; 43. 1950s car feature, FIN; 44. Reads, GOES OVER; 46. Grassy areas, SWARDS; 48. Repaid, AVENGED; 49. Storied gift givers, THE MAGI; 50. Inability to get A’’s or B’’s?, TIN EAR; 51. Detective’s question, WHO DID IT; 52. Aspirin and such, ESTERS; 53. Learn about, with “on”, GET A LINE; 54. Element of radon or xenon, SHORT O; 55. Some reserves, NEST EGGS.

Down: 1. Continues, SAYS MORE; 2. Rating numbers, ONE TO TEN; 3. Not followed, UNTRACED; 4. “Ah, But Your Land Is Beautiful” novelist, 1981, PATON; 5. Discontinued, BROKE OFF; 6. London weekly, with “The”, OBSERVER; 7. Terrible twos responses, NOES; 8. Up until, ERE; 9. Book size, OCTAVO; 10. Upset, SHAKEN; 11. Play the jester, CAPER; 12. Fixture in a pub, ALE TAP; 13. Marks up, say, RETAGS; 14. Precious ones, possibly, STONES; 20. Descriptive of Snow White, FAIREST; 22. Artist’s place, ATELIER; 25. Swore, AVERRED; 31. Badminton dinks, NET SHOTS; 32. Gradually corroded, GNAWED AT; 33. Beneath one’s self-respect, INFRA DIG; 34. Making ends meet?, BRIDGING; 35. Modern places for groups of groupies, FAN SITES; 38. Balls with bands, AGATES; 39. Peace-loving, DOVISH; 40. Handled, SEEN TO; 41. His last film was “The Harder They Fall,” 1956, BOGART; 42. Extremely, EVER SO; 45. Possible reaction to a pretense, SNEER; 47. Miss by A MILE; 49. Second person in Genesis, THEE; 51. Chicago cable station, WGN — Question: Is the crossword solver now to be plagued with the hundreds of call signs of cable stations purely for the convenience of the author of the crossword in need a random set of letters to finish off the puzzle with the least effort possible? This is a list of full-power television stations in the United States having call signs beginning with the letter W!

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Puzzle available on the internet at

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