10.25.10 — With a Bang!



Monday, October 25, 2010

Puzzle by Jonah Kagan, edited by Will Shortz

STARTS WITH A BANG (39A. Has an exciting opening number say … or what the answer to each starred clue does?), BOOMERANG (17A. *Toy that’s thrown), POWDERKEG (64A. *Situation set to explode), WHAMMY BAR (11D. *Guitar accessory that adds vibrato) and BAMBOOZLE (35D. *Hoodwink) are the interrelated group of this knock-out Monday crossword — boom, pow, wham, bam! 

Other — ALOE and BALM (14A. 1-Across ingredient; 1A. Healing ointment), BAD KARMA (9D. Comeuppance for evil actions, supposedly), HOT TODDY (42D. Warm bedtime beverage), MARTIANS (5D. Invaders in an H.G. Wells story), STAR-LIT (24A. Like a clear night sky), STRANGE (53A. Bizarre), TRESPASS (41D. Ignore a property owner’s signs, perhaps).

Mid-size — AD HOC, ALOFT, ARMOR, BABES, BOWIE (9A. David who sang “Space Oddity”), COENS (69A. Directors Ethan and Joel), DEATH (19A. Point of no return?), EDGES, EFFORT, EIGHT, ETTAS, HAIRDO, GUESS who?!“, ISLES, LATCH, LOOFA (3D. Bath sponge), MABEL (38A. Silents star Normand), 4D. Dali’s “The Persistence of MEMORY, NEPAL, NOKIA, OLSEN, OUI OUI (61A. “Certainly, madame!“), PIZZA, PRAY TO (30A. Seek divine help from), RABIES, SPASM, SPIEL, TRAWL, YEARS.

Short stuff — AMID, APP, ATRA, AVA (6D. Gardner of film), AVID, CRUE, DISH (68A. One who ran away with the spoon, in a nursery rhyme), ECHO, EMO (57A. Angsty music genre), EPIC, ERLE (18D. Gardner of mystery), IOTA, LAZY, LETO, MAO, MATE, MISO, NAPE, OAST, ODE, OLGA, PEER, RDA, ROIL, ROMA, SAAB (27D. Sad-sounding car company?), SEE, TAB, TEAK, TEND, TINT, TSAR, WIZ, ZEN.

This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.
~ T. S. Eliot, The Hollow Men, 1925



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Puzzle available on the internet at THE NEW YORK TIMES — Crossword Puzzles and Games.
Remaining clues — ACROSS: 5. Partner; 15. Enthusiastic; 16. Like some on-the-spot wireless networks; 20. What an E may stand for; 21. Deck wood; 23. China’s ___ Zedong; 26. Tic; 28. 1492, 1776, 2001, etc.; 33. Indent key; 36. Back of the neck; 43. Knight’s attire; 44. Actor Jared; 45. Fig. on a vitamin bottle; 46. Possible result of an animal bite; 48. Door fastener; 51. Jimmy of the Daily Planet; 59. Look searchingly; 62. Domino’s offering; 67. In the thick of; 70. Slothful; 71. Kiln for hops. DOWN: 1. Toyland visitors; 2. Overhead; 7. Windshield glare reducer; 8. A hexagon has six of them; 10. Laudatory poem; 12. Itsy-bitsy bit; 13. Canyon sound effect; 22. Download for an iPhone; 25. Fish with a net; 29. Sales pitch; 31. Be inclined (to); 32. ___ Korbut, 1972 Soviet gymnastics star; 33. Old Russian autocrat; 34. Gillette razor; 37. Singers James and Jones; 40. Agitate; 47. Visualize; 49. Rock’s Motley ___; 50. Bob or beehive; 52. Country with Sherpas; 54. Finnish cell phone giant; 56. Number in an octet; 57. “Ben-Hur,” for one; 58. Soup with sushi; 60. Italia’s capital; 63. Buddhist sect; 65. Brainiac.

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