08.21.13 — Tan Lines

Tan lines on human female chest by Evil Erin 

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Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Puzzle by Jonathan Gersch / Edited by Will Shortz

This wandering Wednesday crossword is more of a facile Friday.  TAN / LINES (61D. With 69-Across, beach markings … 14 of which are hidden vertically and horizontally elsewhere in this puzzle) is the intended main feature; however, it is just an overwrought afterthought — a word search to be done after completion of the puzzle — of little use, if any, to the actual solve.

Of interest — ADD-ONS and AND ON, INSTANTANEOUSLY (50A. Without delay), LONG U (“Cute” sound), NATANT (12D. Floating), SULTANATE OF OMAN (37A. Mideast monarchy), SURAL (35A. Relating to the calf), UNATTESTED (57A. Not corroborated), WAIT AND SEE (17A. Like a patient person’s attitude)

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08.20.13 — Day by Day

Abner Doubleday (June 26, 1819 – January 26, 1893) was a career United States Army officer and Union general in the American Civil War.  Doubleday is often mistakenly credited with inventing baseball, although he never made such a claim, and there is no evidence to support it. ~ Wikipedia 

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Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Puzzle by Zhouqin Burnikel and Don Gagliardo / Edited by Will Shortz

DOUBLEDAY (58A. Supposed inventor of baseball … or a hint to 17-, 26-, 36-, and 50-Across), e.g., FIELD DAY, WORK DAY, HOLY DAY, WEEKDAY, LABOR DAY, MARKET DAY, LUCKY DAY and DOG DAY, constitute the interrelated group of this Tuesday crossword:

FIELD WORK (17A. Research that may be outdoors)
HOLY WEEK (26A. Variable spring period)
LABOR MARKET (36A. What employers tap to get employees)
LUCKY DOG (50A. Fortunate sort)

Other — ABS SYSTEM (33D. Auto safety feature, redundantly), e.g., Anti-lock Brake System System; ARNEL (16A. Synthetic fiber); ASSAM (64A. Source of Indian black tea); INFAMY (1D. Severe disrepute); MR HYDE (49D. Half of Stevenson’s “strange case”); PATTY DUKE (9D. Helen Keller‘s portrayer in “The Miracle Worker“).

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08.19.13 — On a Roll

Monday, August 19, 2013

Puzzle by Jean O’Conor / Edited by Will Shortz

ON A / ROLL (62A. With 60-Across, doing great … or where to find 18-, 24-, 35-, 51- and 57-Across?), POPPY SEEDS (18A. Tiny bagel flavorers), SNAKE EYES (24A. Two in craps), HONOR STUDENT (35A. Ones getting all A’s), WALLPAPER (51A. Room decoration with a pattern) and CAMERA FILM (57A. Obsolescent Kodak product) constitute the interrelated group of this agreeable Monday crossword.

Tête de Méduse, by Peter Paul Rubens(1618)

Other — Happy AS A clam, DOG-EAR (Makeshift bookmark), EXIGENT (19D. Demanding immediate attention), “GEE whillikers!”, MEDUSA (2D. Gorgon with venomous locks), OR ELSE (63A. Ultimatum words), Captain KANGAROO, THE COW (43D. Moon jumper, in “Hey Diddle Diddle“, “There’s nothing TO IT”, TRAP DOOR (38D. Hidden exit), YAO Ming.

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08.18.13 — LINE

A line in the sand…

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Sunday, August 18, 2013

Puzzle by Elizabeth C. Gorski / Edited by Will Shortz

BORDERLINES (69. Gray areas, maybe … or a hint to 12 incomplete answers in this puzzle) and AROUND THE / PERIMETER (38D. With 56-Down, where to find this puzzle’s 12 theme answers) and the twelve incomplete answers constitutes the interrelated group of this fine Sunday crossword:

Clockwise around the perimeter of the puzzle:

TELEPHONE LINE (1A. It may come down in a storm)
BAR LINE (10A. Divider in a musical score)
CLOTHES LINE (13A. Hang-out locale?)
SIDE LINE (19D. Hobby activity)
FREE-THROW LINE (42D. Court stripe)
DOTTED LINE (100D Bottom of a contract)
DEDICATED LINE (125A. Means of one-to-one communication)
RED LINE (124A. Draw a mark through for cancellation)
EXPRESS LINE (123A. Supermarket time-saver)
PIPELINE (107D. Locale for finished works that haven’t yet appeared)
OFFENSIVE LINE (50D. Quarterback protectors)
TICKET LINE (1D. Movie theater sight)

Other — ALOUETTE (59A French children’s song), ARGENTINA (41D. Pope Francis’ birthplace), AUTOPILOT (11D. Just going through the motions, after “on”), CARRIES ON (40D. Rants and raves), CHASTISED (23A. Called on the carpet), FINAL EDIT (117A. Last chance to strike out?), four color (51D. Like some printing), HORSE CAR (78A. Old-fashioned street conveyance), INTERBRED (47D. Hybridized), MENNONITE (52D. Amish relative), ONION DOME (79D. Feature of St. Basil’s Cathedral), OVERDRIVE (15D. Certain car gears), PRECIPICE (122A. Jumping-off point), SADDLE SORE (73D. Real pain in the butt?).

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08.17.13 — Out for a Walk

Pavement artist: Thames Embankment 1930

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Saturday, August 17, 2013

Puzzle by Ed Sessa / Edited by Will Shortz

Across — 1. Baker’s predecessor, ABLE; 5. “The Daily Rundown” carrier, MSNBC; 16. Steinbeck siren, ABRA; 14. Vindaloo accompaniment, NAAN; 15. Admission about a story, I LIED; 16. Skillful, slangily, MEAN; 17. Brother’s keeper?, TYPEWRITER STAND; 20. In thing, FAD; 21. In place, hot spot; 22. What one should take in: Abbr., RDA; 23. Engagement rings?, ARENAS; 25. Muhammad e.g., MECCAN; 27. Ready for another round, RESET; 28. Ann Packer in a bookstore; 31. Young turkey, POULT; 32. Strong order?, MAKE MINE A DOUBLE; 35. Compliment to the chief, DELICIOUS; 36. Drawers hitting the pavement?, SIDEWALK ARTISTS; 42. County whose seat is La Junta, OTERO; 43. Means of changing one’s mind, LSD; 44. One way to catch the game, SNARE; 45. Quaint letter-opening abbr., MESSRS; 47. Took the wrong way, MISLED; 48. 13th Spanish letter, EME; 49. Ear plug?, RADIO AD; 53. Big inits. In power, TVA; 54. Remark after holding someone up, SORRY FOR THE WAIT; 57. War head, ANTI; 58. Thrill, ELATE; 59. Strauss’s “Tausend und EINE Nacht”; 50. Backwoods agreement, YES’M; 61. Many a Madrileño, SEÑOR; 62. Walked all over, TROD.

Down — 1. Where to observe some workers, ANT FARM; 2. Napa Valley setting, BAY AREA; 3. Clipboard’s relative, LAP DESK; 4. One way to fly: Abbr., ENE; 5. “Carota” and “Blue II,” for two, MIROS; 6. Start of many an operation, SLIT; 7. Trivial objections, NITS; 8. Blast from the passed?, BEEP; 9. Software box item, CD ROM; 10. Peck, e.g., AMT; 11. Den mother’s charge, BEAR CUB; 12. Tony RANDALL with an Emmy; 13. Like many sonatas’ second movements, ANDANTE; 18. Mad person’s question, WHAT ME WORRY?; 19. Leave to scrap, maybe, STEP OUTSIDE; 24. Indigent individuals, NEEDERS; 26. Numbered relations, COUSINS; 28. “AN ILL wind that bloweth …”; 29. Bass parts, NECKS; 30. Legendary spring figure, NAIAD; 33. Pier grp., ILA; 34. Bras D’OR Lake (Canadian inland sea); 36. Rumor opening, SOME SAY; 37. Agenda opener, ITEM ONE; 38. They’re thirsty much of the time, DESERTS; 39. What gobs take in, SALT AIR; 40. The Merry Mex of golf, TREVINO; 41. Feeling no pain, SEDATED; 46. Jewel cases?, SAFES; 47. Bill MAHER with barbs; 5. Fruit giant, DOLE; 51. Home of the daily Hamshabri, IRAN; 52. Raiders Hall-of-Famer Jim OTTO; 55. Coin feature, RIM; 56. Unlike 38-Down, WET.

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08.16.13 — Vacancy

Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho”, 1960

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Friday, August 16, 2013

Puzzle by Dana Motley / Edited by Will Shortz

Across — Fighting, AT WAR; 8. Amscray, FLEE; 10. They get taken easily, SAPS; 14. BURMA Road (W.W. II supply route); 15. Hospital bed feature, RAIL; 16. Nail, CLAW; 17. Circular side?, ONION RINGS; 19. Unisex name meaning “born again”, RENE; 20. Many a security point, DESK; 21. Straight, ON THE LEVEL; 23. Form of “sum”, EST; 24. Sound name, PUGET; 23. Tom EWELL who won a Tony for “The Seven Year Itch”; 26. Ones keeping on their toes?, BALLERINAS; 29. The City of a Hundred Spires, PRAGUE; 31. Triage determination, NEED; 32. Home of “NerdTV”, PBS; 35. Line of rulers, DYNASTS; 37. Big game plans?, SAFARIS; 39. Argument-ending letters QED; 40. Short distance, STEP; 42. Occasions for bulldogging, RODEOS; 43. Hot-and-cold menu item, PIE A LA MODE; 45. Mathematician GEORG Cantor who founded set theory; 48. Going without saying?, TACIT; 49. Aid in getting back on track, MAP; 52. Means of reducing worker fatigue, ERGONOMICS; 54. Kraft Nabisco Championship org., LPGA; 55. Color also known as endive blue, IRIS; 56. Classic Hitchcock set, BATES MOTEL; 58. Quiet place to fish, COVE; 59. Suffixes of 61-Across, ITES; 60. IRENE Rich of old films; 61. Contents of some ledges, ORES; 62. “TED’S Wedding” (“The Mary Tyler Moore Show” episode); 63. Occasioned, LED TO.

Burma Road

Down — Flat, e.g., ABODE; 2. Fixes flats?, TUNES; 3. Hospital patient’s wear, WRIST BAND; 4. See 5-Down, AMOK; 5. With 4-Down, lost control, RAN; 6. Feature of some western wear, FRINGE; 7. Pathfinder?, LANTERN; 8. Reagan was seen a lot in them, EIGHTIES; 9. Word after who, what or where, but rarely when, ELSE; 10. Things driven on construction sites, SCREWS; 11. Anti-inflammatory product, ALEVE; 12. Authorities might sit on one, PANEL; 13. Wonderful, SWELL; 18. Kind of wheel, ROULETTE; 22. One putting the pedal to the metal, LEAD-FOOT; 24. Summer symbol?, PLUS SIGN; 27. One of the Eastern elite, AGA; 28. Aviation safety statistic, NEAR MISS; 29. Straightaway, PDQ; 30. Manhattan choice, RYE; 32. Broken into on TV?, PRE-EMPTED; 33. Kind of lab, BIO; 34. Nemesis of some dodgers: Abbr., SSS; 36. Fellow chairperson?, SEAT MATE; 38. Use a 24-Down, ADD; 41. Like pigtails, PLAITED; 43. Talks tediously, PROSES; 44. Hacker’s achievement, ACCESS; 45. American company whose mascot has a Cockney accent, GEICO; 46. Diamond flaw, ERROR; 47. Diagonal rib of a vault, OGIVE; 50. One getting cuts, AGENT; 51. Early: Prefix, PALEO; 53. Exit lines?, OBIT; 54. Ethnologist’s interest, LORE; 57. 254,000 angstroms, MIL.

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08.15.13 — Sounds

Sea of Cortez beach in Mexico

The Gulf of California (also known as the Sea of Cortez or Sea of Cortés or Vermilion Sea; locally known in the Spanish language as Mar de Cortés or Mar Bermejo or Golfo de California) is a body of water that separates the Baja California Peninsula from the Mexican mainland. ~ Wikipedia

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Thursday, August 15, 2013

Puzzle by Jeff Chen / Edited by Will Shortz

“What the circled letter(s) in this answer represents, homophonically” is the clue for four answers in this clever Thursday crossword, e.g., C OF CORTEZ, I OF THE TIGER, B IN ONE’S BONNET and C U IN COURT, appearing as SEA OF CORTEZ, EYE OF THE TIGER, BEE IN ONE’S BONNET and SEE YOU IN COURT.

Other — ACAI BERRY (30D. Trendy “superfood”); BANJO (39A. Something a picker picks); BOSOMED (39D. Big or full follower); CROFTS (13D. Seals’s partner in 1970s music); DAYNE Taylor who sang “Tell It to My Heart”; DJS and EMCEE; EWOK and SAGA (48D. “Star Wars” critter; 47D. “Star Wars,“ e.g.); Pop’s IGGY Pop; IGOR (58A. One with a pretty strong hunch?); Bobby MCGEE in a 1971 #1 hit; OBSCENE (40D. Disgustingly large, as an amount of money); PATSY CLINE (3D. “Walkin’ After Midnight” singer, 1957); REHNQUIST (32D. Burger’s successor); SEIZED UPON (9D. Suddenly took interest in); SERUMS (31A. Scopolamine and sodium pentothal, e.g.); TUNE (53D. Simple number).

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At first, we wondered if calling it 'Eye of the Tiger' was too obvious. The initial draft of the song, we started with 'It's the eye of the tiger, it's the thrill of the fight, rising up to the spirit of our rival, and the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night, and it all comes down to survival.' We were going to call the song 'Survival'. In the rhyme scheme, you can tell we had set up 'rival' to rhyme with 'survival'. At the end of the day, we said, 'Are we nuts?' That hook is so strong, and 'rival' doesn't have to be a perfect rhyme with the word 'tiger'. We made the right choice and went with 'Eye of the Tiger ~ Jim Peterik co-writer with Frankie Sullivan on the title of the song… ~ Wikipedia

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08.14.13 — HOLES

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Puzzle by Sarah Keller / Edited by Will Shortz

THINGS WITH HOLES (56A. What 20-, 28-, 36- and 45-Across are), JARLSBERG CHEESE (20A. Norwegian import in the dairy case), GOLF COURSE (28A. Links), FLIMSY ALIBI (36A. You can hardly believe it), WIFFLE BALL (45A. Bit of equipment for an outdoor kids’ game) constitute the interrelated group of this friendly Wednesday crossword.

Other — ALIAS (63A. Carlos Danger, e.g.), AMICI curiae (friends of the court), CON JOBS and SHILLS (1D. Scams; 54D. Participant in 1-Down), COSTA Mesa, HEXAD (6A. Legs on an insect or strings on a guitar), IN A SLUMP (40D. Struggling at the plate say), LAYLA (29D. Grammy-winning Eric Clapton tune), OCEANIA (2D. Where Polynesia is), SEISMS (12D. Earth movers?).

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08.13.13 — Guessing Game

The Return of Neptune, ca. 1754, John Singleton Copley

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Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Puzzle by Joel Fagliano / Edited by Will Shortz

How is it that I’ve never heard of the game Battleship before this crossword?

Battleship (also Battleships or Sea Battle) is a guessing game for two players. It is known worldwide as a pencil and paper game which dates from World War I. It was published by various companies as a pad-and-pencil game in the 1930s, and was released as a plastic board game by Milton Bradley in 1967. ~ Wikipedia

BATTLESHIP (56A. Four units, in 56-Across)
PATROL BOAT (18A. Two units, in 56-Across)
SUBMARINE (23A. Three units in 56-Across)
AIRCRAFT CARRIER (37A. Five units, in 56-Across)
DESTROYER (49A. Three units, in 56-Across)

Other — CARE BEARS (3D. 1980s toy craze), NEPTUNE (25D. Roman god of horses), OIL TYCOON (34D. One whose success is well-earned?), PETRUCHIO (2D. Kate’s groom in “The Taming of the Shrew”), WET SEASON (35D. Monsoon period).

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08.12.13 — Four Eyes

Hugh Edwards as Piggy in “Lord of the Flies”, 1963

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Monday, August 12, 2013

Puzzle by Daniel Raymon / Edited by Will Shortz

FOUR / EYES (1A. With 69-Across, childish taunt … and a homophonic hint to the answers to the asterisked clues), along with four answers containing the letter “I” four times each, e.g., IN HIGH SPIRITS (20A. *Elated); NIHILISTIC (32A. *Believing in nothing), GINGIVITIS (43A. *Inflammation of gum tissue) and STRING BIKINIS (54A. *Eensy-weensy beach garments), constitute the interrelated group of this good-looking Monday crossword.

Other — GIVE / A HINT (35A. With 40-Across, tip off), HEARING AID (10D. Stick it in your ear), ILIE and LIED, INTENSIFY (36D. Make stronger and deeper), LINE DRIVES (28D. Low, hard hits), ROBOT (60A. Man of steel?), STINE and STIPE, UNHITCHED (3D. Separated, as a horse from its carriage).

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08.11.13 — The Monk in the Garden — the Acrostic

Sunday, August 11, 2013

ACROSTIC, Puzzle by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon

Edited by Will Shortz

This Sunday’s awesome acrostic draws a quotation from The Monk in the Garden: The Lost and Found Genius of Gregor Mendel, the Father of Genetics by Robin Marantz Henig. 

The Moravian monk and naturalist Gregor Mendel (1822-1884) labored quietly over the years in his abbey's garden, becoming known locally as a reliable meteorologist with an unusually green thumb. He was much more than that, of course, but his transforming experiments in what a later acolyte would call "genetics" were less well known. When he published the results of his many attempts to discover the mechanisms by which traits are passed from one generation to the next--in Mendel's case, in sweet peas--it was in the proceedings of a local scientific study group, and it would take nearly two decades before researchers in more august institutions would in turn discover Mendel's work and apply it to their own revolutionizing biology in the process. ~ Gregory McNamee, Amazon.com

The quotation:  MENDEL HAD NOT ALWAYS WORKED WITH PEAS; AT FIRST, HE HAD TRIED BREEDING MICE.   BUT THE LOCAL BISHOP … SEEMED TO FIND IT INAPPROPRIATE, … FOR A PRIEST WHO HAD TAKEN VOWS OF CHASTITY … TO BE ENCOURAGING — AND WATCHING — RODENT SEX.

The author’s name and the title of the work:  HENIG, THE MONK IN THE GARDEN

The defined words:

A. Short race in fiction, HOBBITS
B. Visitor of castles in the air, ESCAPIST
C. Small boy, in Britain, NIPPER
D. Like some of the things that make you you, INHERITED
E. In the style of “Dracula”, GOTHIC
F. Position played by Mike Ditka (2 wds.), TIGHT END
G. Surname in a 1582 marriage, HATHAWAY
H. Eponym of the Dodgers field in Brooklyn, EBBETS
L. Means of moving quietly in the woods, MOCCASINS
J. Worship of snakes, OPHIOLATRY
K. Worms good for controlling lawn grubs, NEMATODES
L. Foofaraw, hoo-ha, hurly-burly, KERFUFFLE
M. “O.K., let’s shake” (3 wds.), IT’S A DEAL
N. Not at all far from home (2 wds.), NEXT DOOR
O. Supplement or bonus, as to a purchase (hyph.), THROW-IN
P. Mountain or hill; N.B.A. player stat, HEIGHT
Q. Eurus, in Greek mythology (2 wds.), EAST WIND
R. Cussedly bad (hyph.), GOD-AWFUL
S. Come clean about, ADMIT
T. One in charge of a parish, RECTOR
U. Reduce in number, as troops (2 wds.), DRAW DOWN
V. 1996 movie role for Madonna (2 wds.) EVA PERON
W. Human, per a zoologist’s 1967 book (2 wds.), NAKED APE 

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The full paragraphs of the quotation:  Mendel had not always worked with peas; at first, he had tried breeding mice.  But toying with the reproduction of mammals, according to the local bishop, was simply too vulgar an undertaking for a priest.  The bishop, Anton Ernst Schaffgotsch, had irritated the monks of St. Thomas for decades.  The monks wanted to pursue their interests —  natural science, physics, musical composition -- unfettered by the restrictions of the Catholic Church.  But Bishop Schaffgotsch would not allow such irreverence.  He was especially bothered by the abbot, an independent thinker and powerful man who seemed intent on running his monastery more like a university than a cloister.  In June 1854, the year that Mendel began growing peas, the bishop visited St. Thomas, hoping to get a tighter grip on it once and for all.  His ultimate goal was to shut down the monastery altogether.

The abbot proved too wily an adversary for Schaffgotsch, who was not an especially clever man.  But the two clerics did eventually reach a compromise:  the monastery could remain open as long as the abbot changed some of the things that Schaffgotsch found most offensive.  Among them were the mice that Mendel kept in cages in his two-room flat, where they gave off a distinctive stench of cedar, chips, fur, and rodent droppings.  He was trying to breed wild-type mice with albinos to see what color coats the hybrids would have.  Schaffgotsch seemed to find it inappropriate, and perhaps unnecessarily titillating, for a priest who had taken vows of chastity and celibacy to be encouraging —  and watching —  rodent sex.

“I turned from animal breeding to plant breeding,” Mendel later said with a chuckle.  “You see, the bishop did not understand that plants also have sex.” ~  The Monk in the Garden: The Lost and Found Genius of Gregor Mendel, the Father of Genetics by Robin Marantz Henig.

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08.11.13 — AH...!

Pleiades and Stardust

Dust is a very fragile thing. Light from a star will either push dust away or cause it to spiral into the star within a few thousand years, so to see a ton of it around another star means that something has happened recently to produce it. ~ www.bibliotecapleyades.net 

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Sunday, August 11, 2013

Added Satisfaction, Puzzle by Dan Schoenholz

Edited by Will Shortz

This Sunday crossword titled Added Satisfaction features seven common phrases with the letters AH inserted to produce an uncommon phrase — AH here being the presumed sound of satisfaction.

AFTER ALLAH (26A. Where most things rank in importance to a Muslim?)
JUST SAY NOAH (42A. Webster’s directive to the overly formal?)
HOOKAH LINE AND SINKER (62A. Equipment list for a hashish-smoking fisherman?)
LEFT BAHRAIN (86A. Departed from Manama, maybe?)
AUNTIE AHEM (102A. Niece’s polite interruption?)
SARAHA SMILE (25D. Welcome look from a Bedouin?)
HEAD TO TAHOE (52D. What many Bay Area skiers do on winter weekends?)

Other — ENCHILADA (8D. “Whole” thing), ENOLA GAY (81D. Historic exhibit at Washington Dulles airport), FEAST UPON (24A. Eat heartily), FIRE SALES (91A. “Everything must go” event), HOT DATES (52A. Exciting matches?), IMPEACHES (32A. Casts doubt on), JOE CAMEL (11D. Old ad figure with a big nose), LARKSPURS (50D. Often-blue garden blooms), ON THE EDGE (109A. Caustic), OVER-RATE (72D. Extends too much credit?), STARDUST (5D. Space specks), STUD POKER (35D. Game for those who don’t like to draw), THE BEAST (83D. Beauty’s counterpart), UPHOLSTER (92A. Cover, in a way).

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