10.24.10 — The Agile Gene — the Acrostic

Sunday, October 24, 2010

ACROSTIC, Puzzle by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon

The Agile Gene: How Nature Turns on Nurture by Matt Ridley provides the quotation for this Sunday’s excellent acrostic. From the Amazon.com editorial review: …Matt Ridley takes on a centuries-old question: is it nature or nurture that makes us who we are? Ridley asserts that the question itself is a "false dichotomy." Using copious examples from human and animal behavior, he presents the notion that our environment affects the way our genes express themselves.

The quotation: JANE GOODALLS ACCOUNT OF LIFE AMONG THE CHIMPS READS LIKE A SOAP OPERA ABOUT THE WARS OF THE ROSES WRITTEN BY JANE AUSTEN WE FEEL THE AMBITION THE JEALOUSY THE AFFECTION WE SENSE MOTIVES WE CANNOT HELP EMPATHIZING

The author’s name and the title of the work: MATT RIDLEY THE AGILE GENE

The defined words:

A. Saskatchewan city that is home to an annual Festival of Words (2 wds.), MOOSE JAW
B. Creative impulse or inspiration, AFFLATUS
C. Class kind of sandwich (2 wds.), TUNA FISH
D. Item in a first-aid kit or vanity case, TWEEZERS
E. Brownstone, typically (2 wds.), ROW HOUSE
F. 2006 film about Truman Capote, INFAMOUS
G. Container similar to a carboy, DEMIJOHN
H. Venue for Letterman since 1993 (2 wds.), LATE SHOW
I. Trumpeter with no horn, ELEPHANT
J. Site of Cornwallis’s surrender, YORKTOWN
K. Singer whose female fans often toss undergarments onstage (2 wds.), TOM JONES
L. Sacrifice of 100 oxen, HECATOMB
M. Device for correcting amblyopic, EYEPATCH
N. Albert Einstein philosophically, AGNOSTIC
O. Dame Edna’s signature blooms, GLADIOLI
P. Virtually; active (2 wds.), IN EFFECT
Q. Steal, slangily; free, LIBERATE
R. Like much popular reading, ESCAPIST
S. Kin of King Kong (2 wds.), GREAT APE
T. Avenue adjacent to New York’s Chelsea Piers, ELEVENTH
U. “Pay close attention,” in a book (2 wds.), NOTA BENE
V. Heraclitus, by birth, EPHESIAN

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The expanded quotation with full paragraph:

…a young woman virtually untrained in science began to watch chimpanzees on the shores of Lake Tanganyika. As she later wrote:

“How naïve I was. As I had not had an undergraduate science education I didn’t realise that animals were not supposed to have personalities, or to think, or to feel emotions or pain. … Not knowing, I freely made use of all those forbidden terms and concepts in my initial attempts to describe, to the best of my ability, the amazing things I had observed at Gombe.“

As a result, Jane Goodall’s account of life among the chimps of Gombe reads like a soap opera about the Wars of the Roses written by Jane Austen — all conflict and character. We feel the ambition, the jealousy, the deception, and the affection; we distinguish personalities; we sense motives; we cannot help empathizing.

Though few realized it until later, Goodall’s anthropomorphism had driven a stake through the heart of human exceptionalism. Apes were revealed not as blundering, primitive automatons, who were bad at being people, but as beings with social lives as complex and subtle as ours. Either human beings must be more instinctive, or animals must be more conscious than we had previously suspected. The similarities, not the differences, were what caught the attention.

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Puzzle available on the internet at THE NEW YORK TIMES — Crossword Puzzles and Games.

10.24.10 — Risky Business

Horse sense is a good judgment which keeps horses from betting on people. ~W.C. Fields

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Sunday, October 24, 2010 — United Nations Day

RISKY BUSINESS, Crossword by Brendan Emmett Quigley, edited by Will Shortz

Gambling terminology, e.g., the risky business of OTB, HOLD‘EM, CRAPS, SLOTS, KENO, BACCARAT, ROULETTE and STAKE, punning as OTB IN ENGLAND (22A. London-based place to play the ponies?), HOLD’EM CAULFIELD (30. J.D. Salinger character’s favorite game?), CRAPS SUZETTE (48A. Game played with dice set on fire?), SLOTS OF LUCK (64A. One-armed bandits?), KENO SPEAKER (71A. Relative of a bingo caller?), BURT BACCARAT (88A. Card game played Reynolds’s way?), DON’T ROULETTE OUT (105A. “Please consider playing the wheel again”?) and STAKE PLATTER (118A. Pot with pile of chips?), constitutes the interrelated group of this win-or-lose Sunday crossword.

Eights — ANACONDA (46D. Tropical menace), AT BOTTOM, ATTENDER, ATTORNEY, BACK SEAT, CROAKERS and CROATION (48D. Frogs; 114A. Split personality?), DAY TRADE, HINTED AT, PARTISAN, RETURNER, RONDELET, SHINNY UP (4D. Climb, as a rope), SUNDANCE, TENDERED, UNSTATED.

Sevens — ASSENTS, AVENUE C, HORATIO (19A. Friend of Hamlet), PAN ARAB, PERGOLA, STRANDS, TOE PICK, UPSTART.

Sixes — “ All ABOARD!”, AGATHA (102D. Annual award for mystery writers), ASTROS, BAREST, Radio DISNEY, ERES TU, HONCHO, LATVIA, LEANTO, LEBEAU, LENORE, MCBEAL (3D. TV character with dancing baby hallucinations), MORRIE, N-TUPLE (100D. Mathematical sequence of unknown length), ORNATE, OROZCO (31D. The Epic of American Civilization” muralist), POP DUO, RANEES, SCOTTO, SUE ANE, THATCH, TOROID, UNPOTS, YOU TOO.

Fives — ABEAM, ADENI, BEEBE, C-CELL, DICTA, INNIE, KEYED, NICHE, NOONS, OGRES, OLAND, RIANT, SANA'A (21D. World capital almost 1 ½ miles above sea level), TASTE, TESLA, TOGAS and TOROS (70A. Participants in an annual run).

Short stuff — ABBA (and BABA), ACRE, AES, ALMS, ANNE, ARA and ARI and ARG and ART, BABA ghanouj, BACH, COMP, CTA, DALY, DINT, ECO, EDA and EDO, ELD, EON, ERIE, EROS (62A. Libido), HOT, IGOR, ISM, IRT, JON and JOT, KGS, LOA, LOEB (95D. Trial of the Century defendant), LORE, MATS, NENA, NOR, NUT, OHSO, ONO and ONT and ONTO, PET, PLAN and PLAY, REED (85A. Crumhorn, e.g.), ROT, ROUE, SAKI, SER, SSS, STAC, TAC and TAL, TBSP, TEN, THEE (5D. What you used to be?), TILE, TOAN, TREO, TSA, TUT, USA.

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Puzzle available on the internet at THE NEW YORK TIMES — Crossword Puzzles and Games.

Remaining clues — ACROSS: 1. Charitable contributions; 5. Bungalow roof; 11. Part of an ice skater’s shoe; 18. One of the Three B’s; 21. Film festival name since 1990; 24. Firm part; 25. Street bordering New York’s Stuyvesant Town; 26. “___ Athlete Dying Young” (A.E. Housman poem); 28. 8-point X, e.g.; 29. Laughing; 37. Golfer John; 38. Doughnut shape; 39. Asian royalty; 40. Letters on an Olympics jersey; 42. Busy; 44. Like Nasser’s movement; 52. “Mad Men” actor Hamm; 53. “99 Luftballons” hit-maker of 1984; 54. Spoilage; 55. Short and detached, in mus.; 56. Diva Renata; 59. One-third of a game win; 60. “I’m ___ you!”; 66. Arabian Peninsula native; 68. Sideways on a ship; 75. Insurer’s offering; 79 Author McCaffrey; 80. Antiquity, quaintly; 81. Mitch Albom title person; 82. Losing tribe in the Beaver Wars; 84. Psychologist LeShan; 87. Dearie; 93. Leaves high and dry; 95. Poe’s “rare and radiant maiden”; 96. On a roll; 97. “I’m not the only one?”; 99. Actress Langdon; 109. “Life of Brian” outfits”; 110. Stereotypical lab assistant’s name; 111. Alphabetically first inductee in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; 112. Arriviste; 122. Offered in payment; 123. Vine-covered colonnade; 124. Emphatically; 125. Nods; 127. Gym gear. DOWN: — 2. 8-Down’s home; 6. Big gun; 7. The Iguazu Riv. forms part of its border; 8. 1960s chess champion Mikhail; 9. L overseer; 11. When repeated, an admonishment; 12. Mich. Neighbor; 13. Capital until 1868; 14. Like politics, by nature; 15. Hole just above a belt; 16. Flashlight battery; 17. Worked (up); 20. N.B.A. star nicknamed the Candy Man; 23. Bit in trail mix; 27. Part of a plot; 32. Stuff of legends; 33. Effort; 34. Begins to transplant; 35. “Lost” shelter; 36. Squishy place; 38. Art collector’s asset; 41. Snake’s warning; 43. Rock band with an inventor’s name; 45. Football special teams player; 47. Roadster’s lack; 49. Seven-line poem; 50. One who’s all there?: 51. Bygone geographical inits.; 52. Scribble; 57. Give for free; 58. Frequently, in brief; 61. Well-known Tokyo-born singer; 63. “The Open Window” story writer; 64. Talk to the flock: Abbr.; 65. Mau ___ (forever, in Hawaii); 67. School: Suffix; 69. Former Buffalo Bills great Don; 72. Hall & Oates, e.g.; 73. 1974 top 10 hit whose title means ”You Are”; 74. Canvases, say; 76. Coach Dick in the N.F.L. Hall of Fame; 77. The Altar; 78. Recess; 83. Prefix with warrior; 86. Do some quick market work; 89. Tacit; 90. Smooth operator; 91. Early smartphone; 92. Basically; 94. Neighbor of Swe.; 98. “Shanghai Express” actor; 103. Most meager; 104. Texas nine; 105. Mandates; 106. Meanies; 107. Common times for duels; 108. 0.5 fl. Oz.; 109. “Your safety is our priority”: org.; 113. Bit of theatrics; 116. “Taps” hour; 116. N.Y.C. subway line; 117. 1950s political inits.; 119. Actress Graynor; 120. Metric weights: Abbr.; 121. Big stretch?

10.23.10 — Beam Me Up!

William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek

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Saturday, October 23, 2010

Puzzle by Will Nediger, edited by Will Shortz

A playful and, well… puzzling puzzle mischieviously materializes upon this Saturday, with such fare as WALTZING (1A. Couples’ activity once considered scandalous), I DARE NOT (15A. Chicken’s comment), NO NO NO NO (17A. “You’re doing it all wrong!”), FOOZLE (18A. Green goof) somewhere defined as the act of bungling, especially a poor stroke in golf, WOODSHED (60A. Place of discreet punishment) and SHATNERESQUE (23A. Like overdramatic spoken-word versions of pop songs) — the latter defined little where else but in the above-referenced Urban Dictionary as “A dramatization using over-acting characterized by extra pauses in a sentence. “It’s still alive… out there… somewhere, beyond our galaxy!”

More? AL ZARQAWI (12D. Subject of the 2008 book “How to Break a Terrorist”), ANGEL PIE (58A. Lemony dessert), CLOSE-SET (11D. Like baboons’ eyes), CURLIEST (56A. Maximally kinky), SAINT ELMO (30D. Fire man?), SOYA BEAN (34D. Lecithin source) and TONYA HARDING (43A. Athlete stripped of a 1994 national title) round out the eight-or-more-letter group.

Seven-letter — JAI ALAI (53A. Activity requiring three walls), OPALINE (19A. Like a moonstone), ROOSTER (10D. Farm stirrer), SAVANNA (39D. Zebra zone), SNAILED (41D. Moved along slowly), THE BARD (51A. Many of his subjects were kings), TOO HARD (25D. How someone may try), UNICORN (22D. Part of Scotland’s coat of arms), VASSALS (20A. Fealty swearers), V-NECKED (20D. Like some shirts), ZENITH (5D. Climbers’ goals).

The rest — ADIOS (38A. “I’m gone”), ADOPT, ADS, AFFAIR, ALEPH (48D. Letter resembling an ox‘s head), AMAT, ARABS, ARCADE, ARGO (54D. Talos hurled huge stones at it), ARM, ARMANI, BASIE, CAW, DODO, DOLL, ESSO, EWES, FOLLOW, GRAILS (45D Earnestly pursued ones), GTO, HELENE and HEREIN, HERO and HOERS, ILO, INON, JUNO, LANAI, MOAS, MOCKS, NONE and NOONAN, REARS, SITED, SRI, STILT, STOIC, UNITER, TAVERN, THAN, TROLLS, TWAS, URAL, WINOS (1D. Red lovers, perhaps).

Babies have big heads and big eyes, and tiny little bodies with tiny little arms and legs. So did the aliens at Roswell! I rest my case. ~ William Shatner

Beam me up, Scotty! 

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Puzzle available on the internet at THE NEW YORK TIMES — Crossword Puzzles and Games.

Remaining clues — 9. Tilting setting; 16. Track; 21. Circus tent raiser?; 22.Binding agent; 28. Campaign creations; 31. Not moved much; 32. Not plopped down; 33. Old New Zealand natives; 35. Sends up37. “___ Love - not me”: Dickin40. Farmhands, at times; 42. 1969 Peace Prize grp.; 43. Something to get a round in; 47. Side in a 1948 war; 55. “84 Charing Cross Road” author Hanff; 56. Maximally kinky; 57. Fendi rival; 59. Conservative commentator Peggy. DOWN: 2. Assume; 3. The Pineapple Island; 4. Chat room annoyances; 6. Not excluded from; 7. Squat; 8. It’s “teachin’ up” in a 1964 song; 9. Cause of many a split; 13. Toots; 14. Milk sources; 26. Territory in Risk; 27. Shell alternative; 28. Pat of a Latin succession; 9. Pat of Mauritius’s caoat of arms; 34. Lecithin sources; 36. Guru’s title; 39. Zebra zone; 49. “King Joe” composer), 51. Part of a comparison; 52. Heart recipient5, perhaps; 53. 2007 Best Picture nominee with a mythological name; 56. Avian call.

10.22.10 — Ignis Fatui

Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia ca  1914

Anastasia's supposed survival is one of the most celebrated mysteries of the 20th century making the Duchess almost legendary. Anna Anderson, the most notorious Anastasia impostor, first surfaced publicly between 1920 and 1922. She contended that she had feigned death amongst the bodies of her family members and servants, and was able to make her escape with the help of a compassionate guard who rescued her from amongst the corpses after noticing that she was still alive. Her legal battle for recognition from 1938 to 1970 continued a lifelong controversy and was the longest running case ever heard by the German courts where it was officially filed. The final decision of the court was that Anderson had not provided sufficient proof to claim the identity of the grand duchess. ~ Wikipedia

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Friday, October 22, 2010

Puzzle by Scott Atkinson, edited by Will Shortz

This fearsome Friday crossword cleverly mixes the real and the illusory in a good amount of misdirection, likely to leave a few solvers flailing in its swamp of fact and fantasy.

Across — 1. What a wink often means, I’M KIDDING; 10. Words that prevent firing, I QUIT; 15. Gunpowder ingredient, SALT PETER; 16. “A Season in Purgatory” novelist Dominick, DUNNE; 17. Romanov family member, ANASTASIA; 18. Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da SILVA; 19. Job description detail, DUTY; 20. Repetitive composition, RONDO; 22. Get out of the field, REAP; 23. Chorus heard at some retreats, OMS; 24. Let one’s god down?, SIN; 25. Old Asian title, MIKADO; 27. Havens for folkies?, RICHIE; 29. Thick, HEAVY-SET; 31. Brand written about by Hawthorne, ETHAN; 32. Davis of Hollywood, GEENA; 33. Stadium thrillers: Abbr., HRS; 34. Creator of the currency system consisting of galleons, sickles and knuts, J K ROWLING; 37. Time of the fall: Abbr., SEP; 40. Racing form data, SIRES; 41. Hot partner?, HUMID; 45. Like financial statements and hospital patients, EXAMINED; 47. “Sorry, too busy!”, NO TIME; 48. It may be handed down, RULING; 49. Sob story subject, WOE; 50. Corporeal case, SAC; 51. Host of the 1974 Asian Games, IRAN; 52. Begin’s partner, SADAT; 55. “La Légende des Siècles” poet, HUGO; 58. Congressional feminist of note, ABZUG; 58. “Avalon” band, ROXY MUSIC; 60. Chilled, so to speak, LAZED; 61. Court star being courted?, FREE AGENT; 62. Hissies, SNITS; 63. Compound combinations, SYNTHESES.

Down — 1. ISADORE Sharp, founder of Four Seasons Hotels; 2. Let go, MANUMIT; 3. Gabbers’ gathering, KLATSCH; 4. Opposite of 55-Down, informally, ITSY; 5. Vaccine combo, DPT; 6. Sweets, DEARIE; 7. Row announcement, IT’S ON; 8. Cologne contradiction, NEIN; 9. Former Lenin adherent?, GRAD; 10. Items checked before flying, IDS; 11. Offbeat, QUIRKY: 12. Let go, UNLEASH; 13. Saxon or Celt, once, INVADER; 14. Big-eared china, TEAPOTS; 21. Certain Bedouin, OMANI; 24. Becomes understood, SINKS IN; 26. Literary classic featuring the jester Wamba, IVANHOE; 28. Once-in-a-lifetime trip, for some, HAJ; 29. Stuck (to), HEWED; 30. Elusive types, EELS; 32. Stick, GORE; 35. Equipment near a horse, RINGS; 36. Ready to be totally remodeled, GUT; 37. They appear in installments, SERIALS; 38. Almost in the sticks, EXURBAN; 39. Grand Canal sights, PALAZZI; 42. Exploits, MISUSES; 43. 1970s peace anthem, IMAGINE; 44. Concentrates, in a way, DECOCTS; 46. It often includes a trio, MINUET; 47. “Hold on”, NOT YET; 49. Like some realistic statues, WAXEN; 53. Pound racket, ARFS; 54. Small fishing vessel, DORY; 55. Monster, HUGE; 57. They’re peddled: Abbr., GDS; 59. Chinese game name starter, MAH.

"Reason, an ignis fatuus in the mind,

Which leaving light of nature, sense behind,

Pathless and dangerous wandering ways it takes,

Through error's fenny bogs and thorny brakes;

Whilst the misguided follower climbs, with pain,

Mountains of whimsy heaped in his own brain."

~ John Wilmot Rochester, A Satyr Against Mankind, 1679

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Puzzle available on the internet at THE NEW YORK TIMES — Crossword Puzzles and Games.



10.21.10 — BLOCK

Black Square, 1913, Kasimir Malevich, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg

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Thursday, October 21, 2010

Puzzle by Dan Naddor, edited Will Shortz

BLOCK (48D. The 2x2 black square near the middle of this puzzle’s grid, e.g., which is part of eight answers), 48A. Temporary lapse of memory, MENTAL (BLOCK); 39A. Neighborhood get-togethers, (BLOCK) PARTIES; 40A. Metal casting housing automotive cylinders, ENGINE (BLOCK); 41A. It displays the connections between system components, (BLOCK) DIAGRAM; 6D. What a hammer may hit, AUCTION (BLOCK); 7D. Author’s bane, WRITER’S (BLOCK); 43D. Smash hit, (BLOCK)BUSTER; and 44D. Bit of comic strip text, LETTER (BLOCK), constitute the interrelated group of this brilliant Thursday crossword.

Other — BOTTOM ROUND (21A. Butcher’s roast cut), ELBOWS (47A. Newbie rollerblade sore spots), FIERIER (25A. More ferent), MIGRAINE (22D. What screaming may exacerbate), MR AND MRS (27D. Start of some addresses), OMICRONS (32A. O’s overseas), ORACLE (36D. Soothsayer), PECTIN (24D. Jelly thickener), PIANO HINGE (3D. Cabinetmaker’s hardware), PIE CRUSTS (52A. Filling holders), POLE SITTER (58A. Certain 1920s faddist), 35A. Pax ROMANA (uneasy peace), SATORI (8D. Zen enlightenment).

Five-letter — ALUMS, AND/OR, ARRET, BLANC (43A. Like many squares in a French crossword), COREA (16A. Jazz pianist with 16 Grammys), ELVIN, HONOR, In the LAP OF the gods (left to fate), JEERS, LAURA, METAL, NO END, OP CIT, OUIJA, OVULE, SCARE, SHUNS, SLAWS, SNOOT, WIZEN.

Short stuff — AMP, CENT, CLEO, ELAN, HAIR, HEM, HOT, IOLE (53D. Princess loved by Hercules), KENT and SENT, LEI, MAN, MENO and OMEN, MOUE, MTG, NEON, OLE ONEA, ORIG, OUZO, PDA, PLAN, PPPS, RST (59D. Queue after Q), SARD, SERE, SLOB and SLOP, TASM, URDU, UTA.

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Puzzle available on the internet at THE NEW YORK TIMES — Crossword Puzzles and Games.

Remaining clues — ACROSS: 1. Rock blaster; 4. Shredded sides; 9. Blackballs; 14. “Fantasy Island” prop; 15. 1944 murder mystery directed by Otto Preminger; 17. Hagen of Broadway; 18. Footnote abbr.; 19. Flexible conjunction; “Wow!”; 23. Spill; 26. Border line?; 28. Not a copy: Abbr.; 29. Trendy; 42. Incessantly; 45. Pout; 57. N.B.A. Hall-of-Famer Hayes; 60. Anise-flavored liqueur; 61. Scheme; 62. Bronx cheers; 63. 1963 role for Liz; 64. E-mail folder; 65. Stop on the Métro?; 66. Cigarette that once advertised the “health benefits” of its Micronite filter. — DOWN: 1. Fraternity benefactors, for short; 2. Rock music genre; 4. Neatnik’s opposite; 9. Close call; 10. Pay tribute to; 11. Language of Islamabad; 12. Old Dodge; 13. Reddish-brown gem; 29. It’ll grow on you; 30. Fit for duty; 31. Land under Down Under: Abbr.; 32. Harbinger; 33. ___ mosso (less rapid, in music); 34. Hoagy Carmichael’s “___ Buttermilk Sky; 36. Soothsayer; 37. Subj. of a 39-Down reminder; 39. See 37-Down; 46. Kind of board; 49. Fertilized item; 50. Shrivel from age; 51. Condescending one; 52. Third afterthought in a missive: Abbr.; 54. Dash; 55. Small price to pay; 56. Bone-dry.

10.20.10 — What a Bitch!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Puzzle by Finn Vigeland, edited by Will Shortz

Perhaps after blogging 1,500 NYT crossword puzzles over the past four years, it might be an overstatement to say that I haven’t found one that I disliked more than this Wednesday wasteland, but it rates my first WTF!  I’m totally out of it? What is H AND M? This puzzle is surely an introduction, what, H AND M. Oh wow, you can Google it -- HERE! Are we now to solve advertisements for clothing products? Or what? Google a lot of things. Why not? How about A & A, A & B, A & C, A & D, A & E… I need to go on? Oh, give us answers like HAKUNA MATATA (27A. “The Lion King” song) which is an entertainment you may or may have never seen or may not ever, co-clued with H AND M (37A Swedish-based international clothing giant … or a hint to the answers to the six starred clues) — then let us lament, oh dear Heaven, what happened to that wonderful puzzle we like to work every day. After all, there’s no rule that crosswords need to be aware of the majority of the population’s general knowledge. If the venerable Times wishes to will itself and its crosswords into an early grave, who’s to say, why not? Join the great parade of defunctness. This puzzle was the worst! Keep it up, if for nothing else, just to remember I told you so! I know... bitch, bitch, bitch...

So, H & M? Well, if you’re still out there — HEAVY METAL (17A. *Megadeth’s music genre), HOTEL MANAGER (43A. *Hilton Head, e.g.), HORACE MANN (58A. *The Father of American Public Education), HASH MARKS (11D. *Lines on a football field), HAUTE MONDE (33D. *Society) — wow, HI MOM (25A. Sign in the bleachers).

Other — ANAEROBE (38D. Organism that doesn‘t require oxygen), GLAD-HAND, LIVE CHAT, RATCHET, SMELLED (48A. Knocked someone out, say), WORLD MAP.

Mid-size — APHID, ARHAT, ASTARE, AVAST, BOSOM, CIERA, CIVIL, DENIM, ENNIO, ENROLL,EPSOM, ERESTU, FJORD, LOADS, MNEME and MEME, NINON, OCALA, OCHER, RADII, TEAPOT.

Short stuff — ADDL, ALY, AMAT, AMPM, ASCH, BANO, BLED, CPU, DONE, EASY, ERGS, ERE and ERSE, ESAI, ESTD, FLAK, GMAC, HAMM, HAT, HUM, IMAM, INAT, JEDI, KIEL, LENO, NYPD, OREM, REPO, RILE, RITT, ROM, ROTA, SEAT, SEL, THEN, TORO, UBER, WKRP (39A. Dr. Johnny Fever‘s station, in 1970s-’80s TV), see what I mean?

Bitch, bitch, bitch!

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Puzzle available on the internet at THE NEW YORK TIMES — Crossword Puzzles and Games (solutions to puzzles are available immediately by clicking on “Solution” in the Across Lite menu).

Remaining clues — ACROSS: 1. City SSW of Jacksonville; 6. Physics unit; 10. First of two before-and-after pictures; 14. Mannerly; 15. Stir (up); 16. “No prob”; 19. “Now!”; 20. European tongue; 21 Cornerstone abbr.; 22. Green bug; 23. Increase in increments, with “up”; 31. Enlightened Buddhist; 34. ___ the beginning; 35. Neighbor of Hung.; 36. You may take one before dinner; 39. Dr. Johnny Fever’s station, in 1970s-’80s TV; 40 Hi-tech heart; 41. Spanish bath; 42. Kind of buddy; 47. One of the three original Muses; 52. Viking training camp?; 54. “The Godfather” composer Nino; 56. “I finished”; 57. Who once remarked “You can’t stay mad at somebody who makes you laugh”; 60. Extra: Abbr.; 61. German word slangily used to mean “extremely”; 62. Circle measures; 63. Germany’s __ Canal; 64. Internet ___ (viral phenomenon); 65. English race site. — DOWN: 1. Autumn hue; 2. Old Olds; 3. “Stop, matey’!”; 4. Real-tinme online conversation; 5. Prince ___ Khan; 6. 1974 Mocedades hit; 7. Film dirrector Martin; 8. Politician’s greeting; 9. Partner of poiver, in French seasoning; 10. It’s “short and stout” in a children’s song; 11. *Lines on a football field’; 12. Morales who played a 13-Down officer on TV; 13. See 12-Down; 18. Docile; 22. Part of a Latin 101 trio; 24 Symbol of a position; 26. Shiite leader; 28. Sheer fabric; 29. One seeing red?; 30. Like 12-hour clocks; 31. “The Nazarene” author Sholem; 32. “___ Man”; 33. *Society; 37. 2004 Olympics gymnastics star Paul or Morgan; 39. Colorful almanac feature; 41. Ran; 42. Busy type; 44. Sign up; 45. Rubbernecking; 46. Auto financing co.; 49. A lot; 50. Film composer Morricone; 51. Material in a “Canadian tuxedo”; 51. Criticism; 53. Lightsaber wielder; 55. Utah city; 58. What fans do; 59. Poetic preposition.

10.19.10 — OR What?

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Puzzle by Fred Piscop, edited by Will Shortz

MAKER BREAK (*17A. Seventh day, in the Bible?), LOVER MONEY (60A. $10 bill enclosed in a Valentine card?), HITTER MISS (11D. One-third of a strikeout?) and BOOMER BUST (28D. Satue of a post-W.W. II baby?) are the interrelated group of this bland Tuesday crossword — think make or break, love or money, hit or miss, and boom or bust.

Other — CAROMED (5D. Ricocheted, as a cue ball), GERITOL (21A. “Tired blood” tonic), MUSTARD (54A. Condiment at Nathan’s), ONE MORE (20A. (“I’ll have another”), PLASMAS (43D. Blood bank supplies), REBATES (51A. Cash-back deals), STATE LAW (39D. Result of a governor’s signing), TAKES OUT (9D. Brings on a date), TREAD ON (24D. Trample underfoot).

Mid-size — ABODE, ALOUD, AMEND, MIMIC, EVITA, FALCO, FIBBER, GENUS, HARSH, ILIAD, MOREL, OATHS, ONKEY, POSSE, SLANT, SLOSHY, SPAIN, STUDS, SYNOD.

Short stuff — ABUT, ALAN, ANON, ANTS, ATTU, BRER, CAM and CAMO, DIRK, DOO, DYED, EBON, GLUM, GOSH, INNS, ISTO, ITEM, IVAN, MAN, MELT, MEMO, MIKE, MUST, NAPA, ODE, OSHA, PAUL, PISA, RAGA, RATS, REDO, RHO, RIOT and ROOT, SANE, SCOT, SHAG, SHIP, SOLE, SPUR, TOBY, USE, VAL, WELD.

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Click on image to enlarge.

Puzzle available on the internet at THE NEW YORK TIMES — Crossword Puzzles and Games (solutions to puzzles are available immediately by clicking on “Solution” in the Across Lite menu).

Remaining clues — ACROSS: 1. Mynah bird, e.g.; 6. Has to; 10. Send by FedEx or UPS; 14. Mrs. Peron; 15. Worker welfare grp.; 16. Noted tower site; 19. Westernmost Aleutian; 20. “I’ll have another”; 23. Cheesy sandwich; 25. Having all one’s marbles; 26. Truth stretcher; 30. Go hog wild; 32. P, in Greece; 35. One way to think or read; 36. Homo vis-à-vis humans; 37. Homo sapiens; 38. “The Wizard of Oz” coward; 39. What a roof is usually built on; 40. Dagger; 41. Big of Web video gear; 42. Small earrings; 43. A sheriff may round one up; 44. Horatian creation; 45. Hunter’s garb, for short; 46. Like a mud puddle; 47. Cheer (for); 49. Vintners’ valley; 51. Cash-back deals; 59. Touch on; 62. “Jeepers!”; 63. Pioneering D.J. Freed; 64. Home, sweet home; 65. Picnic intruders; 66. Join with a blowtorch; 67. Religious council. — DOWN: 1. Note from the boss; 2. “Terrible” czar; 3. What a D. J. speaks into; 4. Tabloids twosome; 6. Tasty mushroom; 7. Be hooked on; 8. Thick carpet; 10. Onetime colonial power in the Philippines; 12. “That’s all there ___ it!”; 13. Left-handed Beatle; 18. Term of address used by Uncle Remus; 22. Slum vermin; 24. Trample underfoot; 26. Edie of “The Sopranos“; 27. Homeric epic; 29. Sloppy joe holder; 31. Bed-and-breakfasts; 33. Unduly severe; 34. Like a good singer; 36. Wearing a long face; 39. Result of a governor’s signing; 40. “Inka Dinka ___”; 42. Loch Lomond local; 43. Blood bank supplies; 46. Cowboy boot feature; 48. Solemn vows; 50. Make changes in; 51. Sitar music; 52. Black, to bards; 53. Dover ___; 55. Man-shaped mug; 56. In a bit, in poems; 57. Give a makeover; 58. Did some batiking; 61. Kilmer of film.

10.18.10 — Home Sweet Hollywood

"Hollywood and the World" photograph by Perry Scanlon

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Monday, October 18, 2010

Puzzle by Lynn Lempel, edited by Will Shortz

FOSTER HOME (18A. Where Jodie lives?), PRINCIPAL / RESIDENCE (24A. With 53-Across, where Victoria lives?), SUMMER PLACE (37A. Where Donna lives?) and FIELD HOUSE (59A. Where Sally lives?) are the interrelated group of this tidy Monday crossword.

Other — ALL RISE (27D. Cry from a bailiff when a judge walks in), ELONGATE (40D. Stretch), ENCARTA (44D. Former Web reference from Microsoft), MISERLY (2D. Scroogelike), PREMISES (3D. Debaters’ basic assumptions), SEES OUT (45D. Ushers to the exit), USURPED (1D. Seized, as the throne).

Mid-size — ALIBI, AMBER, APEXES, CIRCA, EATEN, INERT, INSIDE, IT’S ME, MISTED, MR TOAD, MSNBC, OASIS, ODORS, O’HARA, REMAP, REMARK, REPELS, RETELL, RUSSIA, SAGAS, SCARE, SEDAN, SINKS, STILL, SUPER, WII FIT, WIRES, YEOMAN.

Short stuff — ABS, AIR, ALES, AREA, CDS, DYES, EAU de cologne, ELS, ESS and EST, ETTU, HMO, IDLE, III, ISP, LET, MAX, MPH, MYRA, NEAT, OAF, ONE, PCS, PEEP, PIE, PINE and PINS, SHOO, SIR and SIRE, SNL, TARO, TEST, UMPS, USED, USO.

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Click on image to enlarge.

Puzzle available on the internet at THE NEW YORK TIMES — Crossword Puzzles and Games (solutions to puzzles are available immediately by clicking on “Solution” in the Across Lite menu).

Remaining clues — ACROSS: 1. Officials behind batters; 5. Scarlett whose final film words are “I’ll never be hungry again”; 10. Dame Hess at a piano; 14. What to call a king; 15. Caution light’s color; 16. Chick’s chirp; 17. Preowned; 20. Survey a second time; 23. To the ___ (fully); 28. Say “Boo!” to, say; 30. Ernie on the links; 31 Moonshine device; 32. Dirty dishes often collect in them; 33. Hair colorers; 35. Weekly TV show with guest hosts, for short; 36. Broadcast; 41. A clown might get it in the face; 42. Jr.’s son; 43. Heady brews; 46. Current conductors; 49. Rachel Maddow’s network; 51. Singleton; 52. Nonreactive, chemically; 55. Co. with a lot of connections?; 56. Inexact no.; 58. Multigenerational stories; 64. Starchy tropical root; 65. Not working; 66 Camel caravan’s stop; 67. “You too?” a la Caesar; 68. Trial run; 69. Scents; 70. Well-kept. — DOWN: 4. Many a family car; 5. Clodhopper; 6. Payer of some hosp. bills; 7. “Washboard” muscles; 8. Give a new version of, as a story; 9. Square footage; 10. Dashboard abbr.; 11. Royal attendant in a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta; 12. Comment; 13. Uppermost points; 19. Moscow’s land; 21. Dell or Toshiba products, for short; 25. “Who’s there?” response; 26. “Knotty” wood; 29. Around, in a date; 34. “Fantastic!”; 36. Cover story; 38. Covered with a fine spray; 39. Bowlers’ targets; 46. Nintendo product for the gym-averse, maybe; 47. Not outdoors; 48. Disgusts; 49. Wild-riding squire of “The Wind in the Willows”; 50. Savings acct. alternatives; 54. Consumed; 57. “Scram!”; 60. Permit; 61. Troops’ support grp.; 62. Walter Raleigh or Walter Scott; 63. Twisty road curve.

10.17.10 — SPAS — the Diagramless

The Iguazu Grand Resort Spa and Casino at the Iguazu Falls in Argentina

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Sunday, October 17, 2010

DIAGRAMLESS, Puzzle by Paul Gamache, edited by Will Shortz

SPAS (54D. Vacation spots hidden in this puzzle’s six longest answers), CAT’S PAJAMAS, HITS PAY DIRT, JACK SPARROW, SPORTS PAGES, ESTES PARK and ASPARAGUS are the interrelated group of this diagramless crossword.

Jim Horne of The New York Times crossword blog, Wordplay, provides an instructive article on solving a diagramless, HERE.

Remaining Across: 1. Old-fashioned dispute resolution method, DUEL; 5. Croquet posts, IPSE dixit; 10. Burned, in French cusine, BRULE; 12. Land surrounded by agua, ISLA; 19. Depilatory brand, NAIR; 20. Springsteen alias, THE BOSS; 21. Cause of getting fleeced?, SHEARING; 24. AESOP’S Fables; 25. Descriptive of abstract paintings with abrupt transitions of color, HARD EDGE; 26. Makes a short putt, TAPS IN; 27. Land next to agua, TIERRA; 29. Barnyard denizen, HEN; 30. EDA LeShan who wrote “When Your Child Drives You Crazy”; 333. Some scrap pork meat, RIBLETS; 37. Signa, TAU, upsilon; 38. Measure of fineness, KARAT; 39. Aetna rival, CIGNA; 41. Alastair SIM who portrayed Scrooge; 42. Right-leaning foreign policy proponents, NEOCONS; 49. Chest muscle, briefly, PEC; 52. AMU Darya (central Asian river); 53 Like Samsung, KOREAN; 54. Oil-rich seed, SESAME; 57. “As You Like It” heroine, ROSALIND; 59. What a cop may be on, PATROL; 60. Fixes differently, as the hair, restyles, RESTYLES; 61. Provide a voice-over, NARRATE; 62. “30 Days of Night” sheriff EBEN Oleson; 66. Decorated lower part of an interior wall in architecture, DADO; 67. Billionaire, SOROS; 68. Author KURT Vonnegut; 69. Part of a pyramid scheme?, TOMB; 70. Sum’s infinitive, ESSE.

Down: 1. Impose, as conditions, DICTATE; 2. Further in the distance, UP AHEAD; 4. Sappho’s home, LESBOS; 5. Some sandwiches, briefly, PBJS; 6. Noteworthy time, ERA; 7. Wrigley output, GUM; 8. //, SLASHES; 11. F equivalent, E SHARP; 12. Start of a memo heading IN RE; 13. Greeted, with “to”, SAID HI; 14. Not move along, LINGER; 15. Silver, in heraldry, ARGENT; 17. 1969 title role for Alan Arkin, POPI; 18. Part of NRA: Abbr.; 22. All over the map, ERRATIC; 23. Very recently, A DAY AGO; 27. Chickadee relative, TIT; 28. “IT’S all good”; 31. All HET up; 32. Longtime singing partner of Brooks, DUNN; 34 “All I ASK of You” (song from “The Phantom of the Opera”); 35. With energetic speed, BRISKLY; 36. Kerosene, LAMP OIL; 39. Female elephant, COW; 42. Shooter’s org., NRA; 43. Long time, EON; 44. Shook, JARRED; 45. Lab specimen, AMOEBA; 46. Said %@$!, CUSSED; 47. Actor James ARNESS; 48. Jupiter has a “great” one, RED SPOT; 50. Those acting badly, EMOTERS; 51. Fozen pizza brand, CELESTE; 55. Last name in Western law, EARP; 56. Continuous course of planks on a ship, STRAKE; 58. “… AT NO extra cost!”; 61. Air crash investigator: Abbr., NTSB; 64. Acapulco gold, ORO; 65. CD-ROM.

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Click on image to enlarge

Puzzle available on the internet at THE NEW YORK TIMES — Crossword Puzzles and Games (solutions to puzzles are available immediately by clicking on “Solution” in the Across Lite menu).

10.17.10 — Figure of Speech

Numeral 8, Erté

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Sunday, October 17, 2010

FIGURE OF SPEECH, Puzzle by Patrick Blindauer, edited by Will Shortz

The numeral 8 (or “figure“) is used phonetically in eight squares of this gr8ing Sunday crossword:

• CONW8WITTY and AB8 (25A. Singer with the #1 country hit “Hello Darlin’”; 14D. Lessen) — Conway Twitty, abate.
• CR8 and SUBW8RAIN (31A. Egg protector; 3D. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7, in New York City), crate, subway train.
• W8UNTILDARK and TAILG8 (37A. Suspenseful 1966 Broadway hit; 7D. Follow too closely), Wait Until Dark, tailgate.
• LIFTEDW8S and THEL8L8SHOW (60A. Repeatedly raised the bar?; 40D. “The Chairs” playwright), lifted weights, The Late Late Show.
• P8ONPLACE (76A. Racy best-selling novel of 1956), Peyton Place.
• B8ANDSWITCH and ST8S (99A. Fast-talking salesman’s tactic; 89D. Conditions), bait and switch, states.
• SK8BOARDER and M8AG (116A. X Games competitor; 109D. Largest employer in Newton, Iowa, until 2006), skateboarder, Maytag.
• G8ER and RELEASED8 (127A. Spat; 84D. Movie producer’s time of stress), gater, release date.

Other — ANANIAS (46A. Biblical liar), DEDUCED (53A. Gathered), EPHEMERA (74A. Items of short-lived use), EXECUTE (95A. Carry out), GHERKIN (97D. Pickle type), GRILLER (97A. Barbecue cook), IGNORANCE (2D. Bliss, it is said), IONESCO (41D. “The Chairs” playwright), LAWN CHAIR (1D. Common patio sight), MARY ASTOR (86D. Oscar-winning actress for “The Great Lie,” 1941), ME FIRST (87A. Like an egocentric’s attitude), MR WIZARD 913D. Don Herbert’s moniker on 1950s-’60s TV), OPEN TRADE (85D. Tariffs hinder it), 49A. Actress RAE DAWN Chong, SHADOWS (6D. Trails), TEA CARTS (90D. Some service stations), TEST TUBE (63A. Long piece of glassware), WAPITIS (62D. Elk).

Six-letter — ANDREI, ARENAS, ATMFEE, ATTEND, CHOKER, BEAMER, DWEEBS, ERIEPA, ETHANE, FACEUP, ICIEST, NOODLE and OODLES, RENTED, RUBATO, SEAVER, SMORES, STAPLE, UPNEXT, WINKED.

Five — ACEIN, ASTIN, ATHOL, CAINE, DIONE, EFILE, EZINE, HAIRS, HARKS, INSET, KNEEL, LIMIT, NONET, OASIS, PERMA, REINS, RITES, STLEO, TEENY, THANE, TERNS, Rikki-TIKKI-tavi, USERS, USTED, VASCO, VIBRA.

Short stuff — AAA, AGUA, ALC, ALEE, ALOG, ANAP, ANI and ANTI, ASU, ATA, AUTO, BEAN, BIG, BUC, CHEF, DUST, ECON, ELLA, EROS, ETTE, FDA, FOYT, FROM, HERE, HUTS, IDDO, IKEA and IRAE and INRE, ITAR, LESS and NESS, NEER and SEER, LISA, LSTS, LTDS, MICE and MIRE, NOW, OLAV, PACA, PSI, REDD, RENE, RTS, SAGA, SRS and SRIS, TEC, WNBA.

The crossword contains a self-descriptive: NOT SO HOT (39D. With 48-Across, mediocre)…

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Click on image to enlarge

Puzzle available on the internet at THE NEW YORK TIMES — Crossword Puzzles and Games (solutions to puzzles are available immediately by clicking on “Solution” in the Across Lite menu).

Remaining clues — ACROSS: 1. Alaska senator Murkowski; 5. Sean who played the title role in “Rudy,” 1993; 10. Start to frost?; 15. Pan handler; 19. El oceano, por ejemplo; 20. Shakespeare’s Lennox, Angus or Ross; 27. When repeated, a calming phrase; 28. A whole lot; 29. Debate side; 30. Cartographic extra; 32. Easy as falling off ___; 33. Salon, for example; 35. Listens, old-style; 43. Grp. That conducts many tests; 51. Leas welcoming; 52. Wait upon; 54. ___ Coty, French president before de Gaulle; 55. Stick in the mud; 57. Subtracting; 59. Cassandra, for one; 67. N.F.C. South player; 70. Noggin; 71. Still product: Abbr.; 72. On the safe side; 73. Wave function symbol in quantum mechanics; 79. Take ___ (rest); 80. Hindu titles; 82. Speed-skating champ Johann ___ Koss; 83. Out of; 91. Flammable fuel; 93. Part of a postal address for Gannon University; 96. Moon of Saturn; 97. Barbecue cook; 98. Football linemen: Abbr.; 102. Itsy-bitsy; 103. Explorer ___ da Gama; 104. Shout from one who’s on a roll?; 108. ___ loss; 107. One to a customer, e.g.; 110. Prime; 113. Camping treats; 115. B.M.O.C.’s, often; 119. Tanned; 120. Zoom; 121. Florida univ. affiliated with the Catholic Church; 122. ___ the hole; 123. “ … and ___ it again!”; 124. “Twilight,” e.g.; 125. ___ manual; 126. Gulf relatives. — DOWN: 4. Prominent tower, for short; 5. Massachusetts industrial city on the Millers River; 8. Dictator’s phrase; 9. Dread loch?; 10. Spotted cavy; 11. H.S. class; 12. Didn’t but, perhaps; 15. “Educating Rita” star; 16. Sheds; 17. Novel conclusion?; 18. Track star A.J.; 26. Gave a sly signal; 28. Good spot for a date?; 34. “Dies ___” (hymn); 36. Prepare for a dubbing; 38. Yucatan “you”; 42. Former Fords; 43. Showing, as a deck member; 44. Square sorts; 45. Peace Nobelist Sakharov; 47. Cost for getting money, maybe; 50. Common settler; 52. Bowls; 56. ___-Tass news agency; 58. Bread, milk or eggs; 61. Tech stock; 64. Folk singer Jenkins; 65. Miracle Mets pitcher, 1969; 66. Shamus; 67. Person who’s visibly happy; 68. On deck; 76. Sweeping story; 77. Schubert’s “Eine kleine Trauermusk,” e.g.; 78. Use Turbo Tax, say; 81. Comedian Foxx; 88. With freedom of tempo; 89. Conditions; 92. Black bird; 94. Devotional ceremonies; 100. Noggin; 101. Ring around the collar; 103. Lead-in to harp or phone; 105. Dancer’s controls?; 107. W.W. II craft; 108. Furniture giant; 111. Not e’evn once; 112. Winged Greek god; 113. Ballpark figure; 114. Cheese lovers; 117. The Sun Devils of the N.C.A.A.; 119. Magnanimous.