01.08.11 — Balderdash!



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Saturday, January 8, 2011

Puzzle by Will Nediger, edited by Will Shortz

This Saturday crossword winds up somewhere between one cute little gold star pasted on the forehead of Chicago and/or five shoved up the galaxy of The Big Dipper. Commenting and/or reviewing crossword puzzles is, of course,  the lowest form of criticism and a horribly hapless hobby. Ergo egos, dispense with same and get on with the balderdash!

Across — 1. Balderdash, CRAZY TALK; 10. 1981 best seller set in castle Rock, Me., CUJO; 14. Midwest city in the middle of the I-70/I71/I-75 triangle, XENIA OHIO; 15. Satisfy, ATONE; 17. “Shoot!”, I’M ALL EARS; 18. Neuter, DESEX; 19. Operculum, LID; 20. Result of some heavy lifting, ACHE; 22. Dashboard Confessional’s genre, EMO; 23. It lost to “Born Free” for Best Song of 1966, ALFIE; 26. What a plus sign may indicate, ION; 27. Grammy-nominated film composer Brion, JON; 28. Minderbinder of “Catch-22”, MILO; 29. Woodstock artist, SCHULZ; 32. Red state, IRE; 33. Israel’s foreign minister during the Six-Day War, EBAN; 34. Prime, CLASS A; 35. Golfe setting, MER; 36. See 52-Across, NETS; 37. “Hamlet” composer, LISZT; 38. What bugs are often found in, BETA; 39. Some academicians: Abbr., DRS; 40. It’s the same old story, REMAKE; 41. Transfusion amount, UNIT; 42. Thing to get pinned on, MAT; 43. Rally figure, ORATOR; 44. Internet MEME; 45. “Rockaria!” grp., ELO; 46. Jazz piece?, SAX; 47. Bothered, FAZED; 48. Site of some ‘60s tours, NAM; 49. “Get A LEG Up” (John Mellencamp hit); 51. Long way to go?, FAR; 52. With 36-Across, school gathering equipment, TRAWL; 54. Swiftly written?, SATIRIZED; 59. Like spots in which nails are often used, ITCHY; 60. 1902 Kentucky Derby winner that was named after a fictional character, ALAN-A-DALE; 61. Central Asia’s Tien SHAN Mountains; 62. RadioShack stock, TAPE DECKS.

Down — 1. Second-century year, CXI; 2. Post-retirement occurrence, REM; 3. Suffix with railway, ANA; 4. A ton, ZILLION; 5. Bush or Cheney, once, YALIE; 6. Square-TOED (prim); 7. “Of course!, AHA; 8. Pound of Turkey?, LIRA; 9. Highest mountain in Australia, KOSCIUSZKO, why not make this the word of the day to fill up space?  — that would be cheap blogging, just take this link to Wikipedia!; 10. Virtuosic improvisation, CADENZA; 11. Explorer or Navigator, briefly, UTE; 12. He pitched a no-hitter in 1999, JOSE JIMENEZ; 13. Over, ONE MORE TIME; 16. No longer charged, EXONERATED; 21. Place for a hanging piece, HOLSTER; 23. Its first word is “Congress”, AMENDMENT I; 24. They’re not technical, LIBERAL ARTS; 25. Result of good middle management?, FLAT STOMACH; 29. SCLERAL buckle (eye surgery procedure); 30. Doesn’t get any higher than, CLIMAXES AT; 31. Tears into, HAS AT; 38. Hitch, BUM A RIDE; 40. Calvin’s baby sitter in “Calvin and Hobbes”, ROSALYN; 47. Measure associated with Leyden jars, FARAD; 50. Many an opening event, GALA; 51. All right, FINE; 53. “Huh?”, WHA; 55. Shoe add-on, TAP; 56. Fashion designer, Posen, ZAC; 57 Buckskin source, ELK; and, in the name of obscurity, 58. “Porte DES Lilas” (Oscar-nominated film).

Was that so hard? No!  After all... it’s just a crossword puzzle!!!

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Puzzle available on the internet at

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