10.19.13 — Saturday Space

Space Jam, frame from the 1996 film.

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Saturday, October 19, 2013

Puzzle by Peter Wentz / Edited by Will Shortz

Across — 1980 new wave classic, WHIP IT; 7. 1996 hybrid animation/live-action film, SPACE JAM; 15. Cole HAMELS, 2008 World Series M.V.P.; 16. “Ahh” sloganeer, COCA COLA; 17. Juices, AMPS UP; 18. Hot numbers, HIT SONGS; 19. “Bait Car” channel, TRU TV; 20. Some hotels and old cars, OMNIS; 21. Lays flat, KOS; 22. It can precede masochism, SADO; 23. Kind of mile: Abbr., NAUT; 24. Location from which the phoenix rose, PYRE; 25. Ulan-UDE (city in Siberia); 26. Biographer biographies in “Poison Pen”, KITTY KELLEY; 29. Wear for Teddy Roosevelt, PINCE NEZ; 31. Amt. of copper, say, RDA; 32. Surmounted, GOT OVER; 33. Dirty Harry fired them, MAGNUMS; 37. Upstate N.Y. sch., RIT; 38. 1985 #1 whose video won six MTV Video Music Awards, TAKE ON ME; 39. Rhode Island cuisine specialty, JOHNNY CAKES; 43. Rapper with the 2000 single “Party Up (Up in Here)”, DMX; 44. “ANA’S Story” (2007 Jenna Bush book),; 45. Symbols of strength, OXEN; 46. Zales inventory, GEMS; 47. Give some juice, REV; 48. Benefits, HELPS; 50. Have thirds, gorge; 51. Jockey competitor, JOE BOXER; 53. Jin dynasty conqueror, MONGOL; 54. Female novelist whose real first name was Howard, ANNE RICE; 55. Rhyme for “drool” in a Dean Martin classic, FAZOOL; 56. Something between 49-Downs, REST STOP; 57. Out of alignment, AT ODDS.

An illustration from the original 1870 edition of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by author Jules Verne.  

Down — 1. “How’s it goin’, dawg?”, WHAT’S UP G; 2. Hobby with Q codes, HAM RADIO; 3. Fresh, IMPUDENT; 4. Gnocchi topper, PESTO; 5. “I LUV It” (2006 Young Jeezy single); 6. 100 metric drops: Abbr., TSP; 7. Dirt, in slang, SCHMUTZ; 8. Like the Simpson kids’ hair, POINTY; 9. Dramatic opening, ACT I; 10. Lewis CASS, loser to Zachary Taylor in 1848; 11. Prefix with tourism, ECO; 12. 1995-2013 senator from Arizona, JONKYL; 13. 1985-93 senator from Tennessee, AL GORE; 14. Raymond MASSEY who played Abraham Lincoln; 20. Cowboy feature, OATER; 23. What a leadfoot maybe, NINETY; 24. City that’s headquarters for Pizza Hut and J.C. Penney, PLANO; 26. Former Australian prime minister KEVIN Rudd; 27. Supposed sighting off the coast of Norway, KRAKEN; 28. Where faces meet, EDGES; 30. Tight shoe wearer’s woe, CORNS; 33. Mercury and Saturn, once, MAKES; 34. Follower of one nation?, UNDER GOD; 35. Soup line, MMMM GOOD; 36. Marketing mantra, SEX SELLS; 38. Return service, TAX PREP; 39. Sci-fi’s JAR JAR Binks; 40. Many an early tie, ONE ONE; 41. Safe spots, HAVENS; 42. First marketer of Cabbage Patch Kids, COLECO; 46. Outrageously freewheeling, GONZO; 48. HORS concours (unrivaled: Fr.); 49. Last file menu option, often, EXIT; 50. Bearded mountain dweller, GOAT; 52. Bit of action, BET; 53. Deg. from 37-Across, MFA.

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10.18.13 — Word Play

Word Play Wosene Worke Kosrof

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Friday, October 18, 2013

Puzzle by David Steinberg / Edited by Will Shortz

Across — 1999 rap hit featuring Snoop Dogg, STILL D.R.E.; 9. “Sin City” actress, ALBA; 13. Classic TV family, CONEHEADS; 15. Represent, MEAN; 16. 45 degrees, for 1, ARC TANGENT; 18. Wild things?, OATS; 19. Puts on eBay again, RELISTS; 20. Cuban province where Castro was born, ORIENTE; 22. Zoological groups, FAUNAS; 23. Diamond deal, TWIN BILL; 24. Software plug-in, ADD-ON; 25. Mode of transportation in a 1969 #1 hit, JET PLANE; 26. Filmdom family name, COEN; 27. Israel’s Sea of GALILEE; 28. Silence fillers, ERS; 29. Informal name of the 45th state, DESERET; 30. Softball question, LOB; 33. Clean, now, DETOXED; 34. Songbird JONI Mitchell; 35. Turkey STEARNES, baseball Hall-of-Famer from the Negro leagues; 37. Breaks, TAMES; 38. They get tested, THEOREMS; 39. LIMBIC system, part of the brain that regulates emotion, behavior and long-term memory; 40. 2000s CBS sitcom, YES DEAR; 41. Sextet at Woodstock, SANTANA; 42. “El Condor PASA” (1970 Simon & Garfunkel hit); 43. Golda Meir and Yitzhak Rabin led it, LABOR PARTY; 45. Division d’une carte, ETAT; 46. Place of outdoor meditation, ZEN GARDEN; 47. Mock words of understanding, AH SO; 48. Price of an opera?, LEONTYNE.

I never counted my home runs. I hit so many, I never counted them, and I'll tell you why: If they didn't win a ball game, they didn't amount to anything. ~ Turkey Stearnes

Down — 1. Gangster nickname, SCARFACE; 2. “Carmen” figure, TOREADOR; 3. Covers, INCLUDES; 4. Share a secret with, LET IN ON; 5. From the Forbidden City, LHASAN; 6. Bad impressions?, DENTS; 7. Poverty, metaphorically, RAGS; 8. Dutch city ESE of Amsterdam, EDE; 9. Shape shifters?, AMOEBAE; 10. Try to hear better, maybe, LEAN IN; 11. Knock-down-drag-out, BATTLE; 12. First name in shooting, ANSEL; 14. Winter set, SNOW TIRES; 17. Didn’t make it home, say, TRIPLED; 21. Arm, INLET; 23. E-mail ancestors, TELEXES; 25. “Wordplay” vocalist, 2005, JASON MRAZ; 27. “In your dreams!”, GET REAL; 29. Mary DEARE (doomed ship); 30. Italian region that’s home to Milan, LOMBARDY; 31. Chances that a year ends with any particular digit, ONE IN TEN; 32. Florida’s Key BISCAYNE; 33. Musician who arranged the theme for “2001”, DEODATO, clue might more accurately state "a theme" rather than "the theme"; 34. Fruit-filled pastry, JAM TART; 35. Where to bury the hatchet?, SHEATH; 36. Olympic ice dancing gold medalist Virtue and others, TESSAS; 37. TIN PAN Alley; 38. Hypercompetitive, TYPE A; 39. About 40-60 beats per minute, LARGO; 41. Volume measure, SONE; 44. Volume measure, BEL.

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10.17.13 — AGE

William Mulready, The Seven Ages of Man (1838) from As You Like It – Illustration of the passage of Jacques's observations on the seven ages of man.  Mulready crowds into a single canvas all the ages--from mewling infant to "mere obvilion"

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Thursday, October 17, 2013

Puzzle by Gary J. Whitehead / Edited by Will Shortz

APPEND AGE (35A. Wing, e.g. … or a hint to answering 17-, 23-, 49- and 56-Across), SCOTLAND YARD AGE (17A. Distance at St. Andrews golf course?), NEW YORK POST AGE (23A. Cost of mail from Manhattan?), E STREET BAND AGE (49A. First-aid supply for Springsteen?) and CLASSIFIED AD AGE (56A. Top-secret proverb?) constitute the interrelated group of this forgettable Thursday crossword.

Other — ALGIERS (12D. Locale of a 1956 fight for independence), JEAN ARP (41D. Dada pioneer); HOARSE and RASP (9D. Like a speaker with a 25-Down); MACBETH (2D. Source of the line “Something wicked this way comes”), MY STARS (39D. “Good heavens!”); OBERLIN (38D. Noted Ohio conservatory);  STAGGER (11D. Reel); WHO’S WHO (3D. Elite group).

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All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players:

They have their exits and their entrances;

And one man in his time plays many parts,

His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant,

Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.

And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel

And shining morning face, creeping like snail

Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,

Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad

Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,

Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,

Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,

Seeking the bubble reputation

Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,

In fair round belly with good capon lined,

With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,

Full of wise saws and modern instances;

And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts

Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon,

With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,

His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide

For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,

Turning again toward childish treble, pipes

And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,

That ends this strange eventful history,

Is second childishness and mere oblivion,

Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

~ As You Like It, William Shakespeare

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10.16.13 — HIS and HERS

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Puzzle by Samuel A. Donaldson / Edited by Will Shortz

THROW IN THE TOWEL (35A. Call it quits … with a hint to 17-, 23-, 48- and 56-Across), along with HIS and HERS found in four answers constitutes the interrelated group of this frivolous Wednesday crossword:

FLOOR MATHIS (17A. Blow away singer Johnny?)," floor mat" with HIS,  but what?
BACON FATHERS (23A. Boars?), "bacon fat" with HERS
HISPANIC ROOM (48A. Sala?), "panic room" with HIS
HERSHEY BABY (56A. Toddler raised on chocolate?), "hey baby" with HERS

Other — AL CAPP (1A. Creator of Fearless Fosdick), AROD (18D. Biogenesis scandal nickname), COHABITANT (28D. One sharing living space), HORSE SENSE (29D. Practical smarts), I CHOKED and I RAISED, PHREAK (5D. Telephone system hacker), SCARES AWAY (11D. Frightens off), TAFT (26D. Ex-president who swore in President Hoover), YOU ARE HERE (12D. Words on a 20-Across at a mall).

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10.15.13 — Legendary Lizard

Diego de Almeida Illustration: The Basilisk 

In European bestiaries and legends, a basilisk is a legendary reptile reputed to be king of serpents and said to have the power to cause death with a single glance. ~ Wikipedia

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Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Puzzle by Patrick Blindauer and Andrea Carla Michaels

Edited by Will Shortz

MAC, MEC, MIC, MOC and MUC — that’s what we get today:

MACINTOSH (20A. Subject of the book “Revolution in the Valley”
MECHANIC (28A. Person who works with dipsticks)
MICKEY MOUSE CLUB (37A. People in this may have big ears)
MOCCASIN (45A. Sioux shoe)
MUCKRAKER (56A. Journalist of the Progressive Era)

Other — BASILISK (4D. Legendary lizard with a fatal gaze), CAR SALES (41D. Deals at a dealership), CRU and CUR, CURTSY (47D. Girl’s show of respect), EEK and EKED (43A. “Criminy!”; 66A. Managed, with “out“), ENOKI (29D. Japanese mushroom), EVEL and EVEN, JIHAD (9A. Word from the Arabic for “struggle”), KOKO (58D. Gorilla pioneering in sign language), NUCLEI (48D. Cell centers), TROPE (49A. Metaphor, e.g.), XACTO knife.

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Be thou like the imperial basilisk,

Killing thy foe with unapparent wounds!

Gaze on oppression, till at that dread risk,

Aghast she pass from the earth’s disk.

Fear not, but gaze,- for freemen mightier grow,

And slaves more feeble, gazing on their foe.

~ "Ode to Naples", Percy Bysshe Shelley

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10.14.13 — U S Opens

Monday, October 14, 2013 — Columbus Day 

Puzzle by Zhouqin Burnikel and D. Scott Nichols

Edited by Will Shortz

U S OPENS (43D. Annual tournaments … or a description of the starts of 16-, 20-, 37-, 53- and 60-Across), USAIN BOLT (16A. Jamaican sprinter nicknamed “The Fastest Man on Earth”), USUAL FARE (20A. Nothing daring in terms of offerings), USB PORT (37A. PC outlet), USERS FEES (53A. Service charges) and USHERED IN (60A. Heralded, as a new era) constitute the interrelated group of this woebegone Monday crossword.

Other — DANSK (46A. Brand of dinnerware with a Scandinavian design), ENIGMAS (4D. Mysteries), GAPE and TAPE, ISERE and LOIRE (49D. River of Grenoble, France; 11D. France’s longest river), MALL RAT (15D. Teen hanging out among shoppers), Glenn MILLER, Roger MOORE, OIL RIGS (41D. Structures in the Gulf of Mexico), PIANO BARS (3D. Nightspots for cocktails and easy listening), TALK RADIO (33D. Rush Limbaugh medium).

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10.13.13 — Taken to Task

Sisyphys (1548-1549) by Titian, Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain

In Greek mythology Sisyphus was a king of Ephyra (now known as Corinth) punished for chronic deceitfulness by being compelled to roll an immense boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down, and to repeat this action forever. ~ Wikipedia 

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Sunday, October 13, 2013

“Taken to Task” Puzzle by Jeff Chen / Edited by Will Shortz

Imagery plays an important role in this uniquely imaginative Sunday crossword with a rock-like black-dot-square atop SISYPHUS in circled letters, reinforced by six entries:

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE (22A. Movie franchise since 1996)
BOULDER COLORADO (30A. Setting for “Mork & Mindy”)
PERPETUAL MOTION (98A. Violation of the first and second laws of thermodynamics)
IT’S AN UPHILL BATTLE (108A. Underdog’s saying)
INFINITE LOOP (15D. Computer programming problem)
ROLLING STONE (60D. First publisher of Hunter S. Thompson’s “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”)

Robert Fludd's 1618 "water screw" perpetual motion machine from a 1660 wood engraving.

Other — ALGER HISS (76D. Red Scare target), ASPCA (7A. Org. for lab safety?), CAR KEYS (50A. Sonata starters), CLEOPATRA (14D. Shakespeare heroine), DENEB (40A. One of three stars in the Summer triangle), DIGRESSED (92A. Went off?), DODO BIRD (28A. Metaphor for obsolescence), HEARTLESS (39D. Cold-blooded), INSOLVENCY (4D. Feared red state), LASSIE (121A. Animal with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame), LOTHARIOS (38A. Whistle-blowers?), tried to make sense of that clue, but to no avail, Rapper Nicki MINAJ, MEAT PIE (73A. Pub offering), ROSINS (1A. Treats, as a bow), TÊT-À-TÊTES (74D. Little confabs), WINE GLASS (47D. Red or white vessel).

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The sun climbs
from cool streams
of eastern seas
to oust the night.
What long drudgery
for a light-bringer —
unpacking this foolish
planet from darkness!

Sun! while your bright
beams are conquering
half of the world
in heaven's service,
loosing legions
of light everywhere —
in the east the night
always pursues you.

Sturdy Sisyphus
strains at his rock,
the Danaids' jar
drips forever,
and earth whirls herself
endlessly
out of light
and into darkness.

~ Drudgery, Jonas Hallgrimsson

  

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10.12.13 — L.H.O.O.Q.

L.H.O.O.Q. (1919). Marcel Duchamp.

The name of the piece, L.H.O.O.Q. (in French èl ache o o qu), is a pun, since the letters when pronounced in French form the sentence "Elle a chaud au cul", which can be roughly translated as "Her ass is hot", or more accurately "She is really horny". ~ Wikipedia

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Saturday, October 12, 2013

Puzzle by John Farmer / Edited by Will Shortz

Across — 1. Angry missive, NASTYGRAM; 10. Body parts often targeted by masseurs, NAPES; 15. Trailing, IN THE REAR; 16. ORRIN Hatch in the upper house; 17. Chutes behind boats, PARASAILS; 18. Treaty of Sycamore Shoals negotiator, 1775, BOONE; 19. Taking forever, SLOW; 20. Antimissile plan, for short, SDI; 21. Part of Duchamp’s parody of th “Mona Lisa”, GOATEE; 22. Octane booster brand, STP; 24. San YSIDRO Calif. (border town opposite Tijuana); 26. Discount ticket letters, SRO; 29. In the main, USUALLY; 31. Stuffed bear voiced by Seth MacFarlane, TED; 34. Not likely to be a “cheese” lover?, CAMERA SHY; 36. Pens for tablets, STYLI; 38. Learn to live with, ADAPT TO; 39. Like the sound holes of a cello, F SHAPED; 41. 1966 Indy 500 champion, RAHAL; 42. Champion, PROPONENT; 44. Venetian mapmaker FRA Mauro; 45. Driver’s license requirement, EYE EXAM; 47. Portugal’s Palácio SÃO Bento; 48. What a movie villain often comes to, BAD END; 59. Faced, MET; 52. Enter as a mediator, STEP IN; 54. Tribe whose sun symbol is on the New Mexico flag, ZIA; 56. Grandson of Abraham, ESAU; 60. Roadster from Japan, MIATA; 61. Sites for shark sightings, POOL HALLS; 63. Gut trouble, ULCER; 64. Group in a star’s orbit, ENTOURAGE; 65. Disney Hal architect, GEHRY; 66. Sci-fi battle site, DEATH STAR.

Sia [Zia] buffalo dancer, circa 1925, Edward S. Curtis photo

Down — 1. Beats at the buzzer, say, NIPS; 2. Like a control freak, ANAL; 3. Houston ballplayer, in sports shorthand, STRO; 4. Spring events, THAWS; 5. Word spoken 90 times in Molly, YES; 6. Desperately tries to get, GRASPS AT; 7. “Criminal Minds” agent with an I.Q. of 187, REID; 8. Singer of the #1 single “Try Again,” 2000, ALIYAH; 9. Half a couple, MRS; 10. Vacancy clause?, NOBODY HOME; 11. Like the crowd at a campaign rally, AROAR; 12. Some mock-ups, PROTOTYPES; 13. One in a Kindergarten?, EINE; 14. Three-time All-Pro guard Chris SNEE; 21. Owen Wilson’s “Midnight in Paris” role, GIL; 23. Glenda Jackson/Ben Kingsley film scripted by Harold Pinter, TURTLE DIARY; 25. Cunning one, SLY FOX; 26. Wolf (down), SCARF; 27. RADAR gun; 28. Battle site of June 6, 1944, OMAHA BEACH; 30. Grand Slam event, U S OPEN; 32. John Paul’s successor, ELENA; 33. Inflicted on, DID TO; 35. Green org., EPA; 37. Shade that fades, TAN; 40. Musical with a cow that’s catapulted over a castle, SPAMALOT; 43. Area inside the 20, in football, RED ZONE; 46. Appetite, YEN; 49. More likely, APTER; 51. Sadness symbolized, TEARS; 52. Complacent, SMUG; 53. Plaza square, maybe, TILE; 55. Least bit, IOTA; 57. Blind strip, SLAT; 58. Morsel for a guppy, ALGA; 59. One with a password, say, USER; 61. Street crosser, briefly, PED; 62. “You wanna run that by me again?”, HUH.

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10.11.13 — The Friday Crossword

Portrait of John Keats by William Hilton

National Portrait Gallery, London

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Friday, October 11, 2013

Puzzle by Peter A. Collins / Edited by Will Shortz

Six 15-letter answers constitute the main feature of this Friday crossword:

MEAT THERMOMETER (17A. Turkey sticker)
PLAY ME OR TRADE ME (27A. Benchwarmer’s plea)
DON’T EVEN GO THERE (46A. “That subject’s off the table!”)
WHERE’S THE REMOTE (59A. Universal query?)
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT (3D. “And now?”)
SETTLES THE SCORE (11D. Gets payback)

Other — “Everybody is A STAR”; ARMY STRONG (8D. Like G.I.‘s, per recruiting ads); Forest newcomer, FAWN; 53A. “Philosophy will clip an angel’s wings” writer, KEATS; OXYGENATED (29D. Like some hemoglobin); TIME GAP (9D. Interval).

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Do not all charms fly

At the mere touch of cold philosophy?

There was an awful rainbow once in heaven:

We know her woof, her texture; she is given

In the dull catalogue of common things.

Philosophy will clip an Angel's wings,

Conquer all mysteries by rule and line,

Empty the haunted air, and gnomèd mine—

Unweave a rainbow, as it erewhile made

The tender-person'd Lamia melt into a shade.

~ Lamia, John Keats

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10.10.13 — Days of the Week

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Puzzle by Jeffrey Wechsler / Edited by Will Shortz

DESKTOP CALENDAR (3D. Common site for 36-Across), APPOINTMENT BOOK (10D. Common site for 36-Across) and SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT (36A. All the time?: Abbr.), resulting in seven corresponding down entries, constitutes the main feature of this run-of-the-mill Thursday crossword.

[SUN] YAT SEN (36D. Revered Chinese figure)
LE[MON] (29D. It may leave a sour taste in your mouth)
EASY VIR[TUE] (6D. Noel Coward play)
ARE [WE D]ONE (26D. “Anything else that you require?”)
[THU]CYDIDES (37D. Athenian general who wrote “History of the Peloponnesian War’)
[FRI]DA (38D. 2002 Salma Hayek film or its title role)
REMAIN [S AT] (15D. Doesn’t leave)

Other — ABORIGINE (2D. Native), DEAD BODY (40D. Nonspeaking role on ‘CSI”), DUST SWEEPER (17A. Custodial tool), SALIVATE (1D. Show eager anticipation), SIDE AISLE (34D. Peripheral basilica feature), SWEETENED (48A. Like many breakfast cereals), UNDREAMED OF (57A. Inconceivable), VARIATION (25A. Basic process of genetics).

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