LETTING GO OF, Puzzle by Paula Gamache and Ed Stein
Edited by Will Shortz
Elimination of the preposition “of” in common phrases resulting in nine uncommon ones with question-mark clues constitutes the interrelated group of this friendly-enough Sunday crossword.
BATTLE THE BULGE (23A. (Diet?)
LAND PLENTY (31A. Be very successful at fishing?)
BOOK THE DEAD (37A. Do a clerk’s work at a morgue?)
CAST THOUSANDS (50A. Throw large bank notes around?)
MILK HUMAN KINDNESS (67A. Take advantage of good Samaritans?)
DOCTOR LETTERS (86A. Forge some personal notes?)
BEST FRIENDS (94A. Outdo one’s buddies?
POUND FLESH (103A. Be a sadistic masseuse?)
ORDER THE GARTER (118A. Send for a special bridal accessory?)
Other — ARACHNE (1A. Spiderwoman?), BEDPOST, EARTH SHOES (39D. Faddish 1970s footwear), ESKIMO DOGS (44D. They‘re mushed), FOOTAGE, HONOREE, OMICRON, REEBOKS, RESIDES, SINGERS.
Six-letter — AA BOND, ACTION, ADAGIO (101D. Slowly), ADOBES, AGE GAP, AMOEBA, ASST DA, BEFITS, ENMESH, ESTEEM, ETHANE, EXCEED, F STOPS, GOOGLE, HAR HAR, IF THEN, LOCALE, NARROW, NEEDLE, ON DECK, ROXANA, RUN FOR, SOCIAL, SOIREE, SPRITE, TARTAR, TWO ACT, UNDULY.
Five — ABFAB, ADORE, Chile de ARBOL, ASTON-Martin, AT BAY, AUNTS, BIDET, BRONC, CITED, CLEAR (98A. Cloudless), DIONE, DONEN, ESTER, GENTS, HANKS, HORSE, INFER, IN ICE, LARGO (104D. Slowly), LEMAT, NOTRE Dame, OLETA, PEREC, REATA, RONCO, SHORT, STERE, T TEST, UPSET, UTERO.
Short stuff — ADO, AFB, AHEM, ANAT, ANG and ANN, ARS, “AS I mentioned …”, ASTO, BAN, BTU, BYOB, COS, DANL, DEA, EARN, ECRU, EGAN, END, EYRE, FAIR (75A. Cloudless), FAST, GAIN, GAS and GARS, HALO, HDL, HEE and HEF, HOSP, I BET, IDIO, LOAD, LUKE, LUSH, MOOD, NEE, NOUN, ON CD, ORCA, OTOE, OUCH, PALS, RHUM, RTE, SARI, SHE’S, SIE, SMA, SOY, STP, TAUS, TERA, TURF, UCLA.
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THE NEW YORK TIMES — Crossword Puzzles and Games.
Remaining clues — ACROSS: 8. Phony laugh; 14. Possible barrier to romance; 20. Dwells; 21. Natural gas component; 22. Wife of Alexander the Great; 25. Tea, e.g.,; 26. Plains Indian; 27. Part of the Dept. of Justice; 28. Wee creature; 30. Sign on a British restroom door; 34. Site; 38. Actor Paul of “American Graffiti”; 42. Unborn, after “in”; 46. Cardinal from New York; 48. Prussian pronoun; 49. Something further?; 55. O; 58. It begins “Forasmuch as many have taken in hand …”; 59. What sisters often are; 60. Net; 64. How albums may be stored; 55. Beige; 66. Conditional construct in programmed; 72. Desert homes; 74. Amount in the back of a pickup, e.g.; 76. Bunny man, for short; 79. Bathroom fixture; 80. Abbr. in many a party invitation; 81. It may be broken on a ranch; 83. Kind of bean; 84. It may be raw; 89. Director Lee; 90. Edwards of Andrews: Abbr.; 92. Whatchamacallit?; 93. Breaking sports news, maybe; 102. #2 in a prosecutor’s off.; 108. Without enough money; 111. Coca-Cola brand; 114. Wee, to a Scot; 115. Anent; 116. Dr. Seuss title character; 121. Breakout; 122. Swank do; 123A. Chorus, e.g.; 124. Thin in supply; 126. Like many a Broadway play; 126. One getting roasted or toasted. — DOWN: 1. Chile de ___ (hot pepper); 2. Lariat; 3. ___ Martin, British sports car; 4. Given a ticket; 5. “Good” cholesterol, for short; 6. Razz; 7. Regard; 8. ___-haw; 9. Held off; 10. Baba au ___; 11. Overhead light?; 12. Ali trainer Dundee; 13. Some sports footwear; 14. Word in the MGM logo; 15. Owner of You Tube; 16. Go over; 17. Put on weight; 18. Cadaver study: Abbr.; 19. Mates; 24. Tennis champ Mandikova; 29. Director’s “start”; 32. Garden ___; 33. Statistic method for checking means; 35. “Excuse me”; 37. Heavy-handed measure; 38. Next at bat; 40. Eat up, so to speak; 41. Film director Stanley; 42. Where Bertrand Russell taught philosophy, for short; 43. Some crosses; 45. Itinerary abbr.; 47. Many an anesthetic; 51. Oscar winner Tom; 52. Response to a shot, maybe; 53. Too much; 54. Gandhi garment; 56. Figure out; 57. Foldable furniture; 61. Seek election to; 64. Adams with the 1991 hit “Get Here”; 65. Windup; 66. One way to be trapped during winter; 68. “Yeah, sure”; 69. It may be set with candlelight; 70. Relatively safe investment; 71. Frontiersman Boone, informally; 72. Award-winning British sitcom, to fans; 73. Moon of Saturn; 77. Bronte heroine; 78. Unfading; 80. Is suitable for; 81. HAC measure; 82. Veg-O-Matic maker; 83. 500 initials; 85. Needlefish; 87. Abbr. in trig; 88. Gang land; 91. It helps support a canopy; 96. ___ sauce; 96. Camera settings; 97. Like some minds and margins; 99. Sot; 100. Tangle up; 103. Georges who wrote “Life: A User’s Manual”; 105. Animal or vegetable fat, e.g.; 106. Volume unit; 107. Play (around); 108. Steve Perry hit “___ Mine”; 109. O.R. or E.R. site; 110. Ocean menace; 112. Peculiar: Prefix; 113. Trillion: Prefix; 117. Born as; 119. Vietnamese holiday; 120. Mrs. Romney.
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