Constructed by: Christina Iverson & Jeff Chen
Edited by: Will Shortz
Not your puzzle? Try today’s …
… syndicated NY Times crossword
Today’s Theme Jigsaw Puzzle
Themed answers are common expressions interpreted with reference to a jigsaw puzzle. Circled letters in the grid represent jigsaw pieces. We interlock those pieces to fill the bottom center of the puzzle, giving us the phrase “PICTURE PERFECT MOMENT”. Very creative …
- 27A “First, you’re going to want to dump out the box and ___” : PICK UP THE PIECES
- 40A “What’s most useful next is to ___” : GO OVER THE EDGE
- 57A “To connect things up you’ll have to ___” : PLAY WITH MATCHES
- 83A “As you go, make sure you exercise your ___” : FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
- 93A “With patience and perseverance you’re sure to ___” : GET IT TOGETHER
Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers
Want to discuss the puzzle? Then …
… leave a comment
Bill’s time: 17m 54s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
6 Style that makes waves : PERM
“Perm” is the common name given to a permanent wave, a chemical or thermal treatment of hair to produce waves or curls.
10 Doe in a court case : JANE
Though the English court system does not use the term today, “John Doe” first appeared as the “name of a person unknown” in England in 1659, along with the similar “Richard Roe”. An unknown female is referred to as “Jane Doe ”, and the equivalent to Richard Roe is Jane Roe (as in Roe v. Wade, for example). Variants of “John Doe” used outside of the courts are “Joe Blow” and “John Q. Public”.
19 Keister : TUSHY
“Tush”, a word meaning “backside”, is an abbreviation of “tochus” that comes from the Yiddish “tokhes”.
Back in the early 1900s, a keister was a safe or a strongbox. It has been suggested that “keister” was then used as slang by pickpockets for the rear trouser pocket in which one might keep a wallet. From this usage, “keister” appeared as a slang term for the buttocks in the early 1930s.
20 China holder? : ASIA
The world’s most populous country is the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The Republic of China (ROC) is the official name of the sovereign state that we usually call Taiwan.’
21 Axe target : ODOR
Axe is a brand of male grooming products. Axe is sold under the name Lynx in some parts of the world.
22 Some Madison Avenue workers : AD MEN
Madison Avenue became the center of advertising in the US in the twenties, and serves as the backdrop to the great TV drama “Mad Men”. There aren’t many advertising agencies left on Madison Avenue these days though, as most have moved to other parts of New York City. The street takes its name from Madison Square, which is bounded on one side by Madison Avenue. The square in turn takes its name from James Madison, the fourth President of the United States.
25 Barflies : SOTS
Our word “sot” comes from the Old English “sott”, meaning “fool”. The word “sot” started to be associated with alcohol and not just foolery in the late 1500s. The derivative term “besotted” means “muddled with drunkenness”, or more figuratively “infatuated”.
31 Francis of old game shows : ARLENE
I discovered the wonderful old American TV show “What’s My Line?” a few years ago. I was familiar with the show’s British adaptation, but hadn’t spotted the US version until relatively recently in reruns. I fell in love with the beautiful Arlene Francis watching those reruns. She was a regular panelist on the show, and the embodiment of elegance. Host of the show was the erudite and genteel John Daly, a much-respected journalist and broadcaster. Daly became the son-in-law of Chief Justice Earl Warren when he married Warren’s daughter, Virginia. One of the legacies of the show is the popularization of the question “Is it bigger than a breadbox?”
35 Capital on a 126-mile-long canal that’s used as a skating rink in the winter : OTTAWA
Ottawa is the second-largest city in the Province of Ontario (after Toronto) and is the capital city of Canada. The name “Ottawa” comes from an Algonquin word “adawe”, which means “to trade”.
39 English breakfast, e.g. : TEA
English breakfast tea is a blend of black teas dominated by teas from Assam, Ceylon and Kenya. The blends are created to go well with milk and perhaps sugar, as indeed one might drink tea with an English breakfast. Irish breakfast tea is mainly a blend of teas from Assam. It is also created to go well with milk, especially after a few pints of Guinness. Okay, I made up that last bit …
45 College app component : REC
Recommendation (rec.)
46 Role for “Ronny” Howard : OPIE
Opie Taylor is the character played by Ron Howard on “The Andy Griffith Show”. Opie lives with widowed father Andy Taylor (played by Andy Griffith) and his great-aunt Beatrice “Aunt Bee” Taylor (played by Frances Bavier). Ron Howard first played the role in 1960 in the pilot show, when he was just 5 years old. Howard sure has come a long way since playing Opie Taylor. He has directed some fabulous movies including favorites of mine like “Apollo 13”, “A Beautiful Mind” and “The Da Vinci Code”.
49 State flower of Utah : SEGO
The sego lily is the state flower of Utah, and is a perennial plant found throughout the Western United States.
50 One of the B’s in BB&B : BATH
78 One of the B’s in BB&B : BED
Bed Bath & Beyond is a retailer of domestic merchandise that was founded in 1971 as Bed ‘n Bath. During one of the few visits I’ve ever made to a Bed Bath & Beyond store, I said to my wife, “I honestly cannot understand why this store even exists”. Not my cup of tea …
51 Field work of note in 1979 : NORMA RAE
“Norma Rae” is a 1979 movie starring Sally Field as Norma Rae Webster in a tale of union activities in a textile factory in Alabama. The film is based on the true story of Crystal Lee Sutton told in a 1975 book called “Crystal Lee, a Woman of Inheritance”.
Actress Sally Field first came to the public’s attention in the sixties with title roles in the TV shows “Gidget” and “The Flying Nun”. She has two Best Actress Oscars; one for “Norma Rae” (1979) and one for “Places in the Heart” (1984).
57 “To connect things up you’ll have to ___” : PLAY WITH MATCHES
A strike-anywhere match will ignite if struck against almost any dry, hard, rough surface. The match head comprises two chemicals that are necessary for ignition. In order to minimize the chances of accidental ignition of matches, the safety match was developed. The safety match is safer because the match head only includes one of the chemicals necessary for ignition. The second chemical is included in a special striking surface provided with the matches, usually along the side of a matchbox.
63 Ones getting the crumbs? : PIGEONS
Taxonomically, doves and pigeons are the only members of the order Columbidae. The terms “dove” and “pigeon” are often used interchangeably. Scientifically speaking, dove species tend to be smaller than pigeon species. Colloquially though, many refer to doves as the white or nearly white species in the family.
66 Bonnie with five Top 40 hits in the 1990s : RAITT
Bonnie Raitt is a blues singer who is originally from Burbank, California. Raitt has won nine Grammys for her work, but she is perhaps as well known for her political activism as she is for her music. She was no fan of President George W. Bush while he was in office, and she sure did show it.
72 More like a dive bar or certain bread : SEEDIER
We use the word “seedy” to mean “shabby”. The usage probably arose from the appearance of a flowering plant that has gone to seed.
We’ve been using the word “dive” in American English for a run-down bar since the latter half of the 19th century. The term comes from the fact that disreputable taverns were usually located in basements, so one had to literally and figuratively dive into them.
74 Beehives, but not hornets’ nests : UPDOS
That distinctive beehive hairstyle is also called a B-52, because the round, beehive-shape also resembles the bulbous nose of a B-52 bomber! The style originated in 1958, and is credited to Margaret Vinci Heldt, the owner of a hair salon in downtown Chicago. I’m not a fan of the beehive, but I do have to say that Audrey Hepburn carried it off in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, as did Dusty Springfield in her heyday.
75 Daredevil’s hashtag : YOLO
You only live once (YOLO)
79 Good name for an investor? : IRA
Individual retirement account (IRA)
82 High-end Italian auto, informally : ALFA
The “Alfa” in “Alfa Romeo” is actually an acronym, one standing for Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili (“Lombard Automobile Factory, Public Company”). ALFA was an enterprise founded in 1909 and which was taken over by Nicola Romeo in 1915. In 1920 the company name was changed to Alfa Romeo.
89 Little bouquets : POSIES
“Poesy” was the name given to a line of verse engraved on the inner surface of a ring. The related word “posy”, for a bouquet of flowers, arose with the notion that giving a posy might be a message of love, just as a poesy inside a ring could have the same meaning.
100 Songs that can be trilling? : ARIAS
In music a “trill” is the rapid alternation of two tones that are very close to each other to make a vibrato sound.
103 Fairy tale figure : GNOME
In English folklore, the fairy’s anti-hero is the diminutive gnome, an evil ugly character. Although the charastics of gnomes vary in folklore, typically they are described as diminutive humanoids who live underground. Over the centuries, the gnome has become more lovable. We now have garden gnomes, and even the Travelocity Gnome.
113 Homes for high fliers : AERIES
An aerie (sometimes “eyrie”) is an eagle’s nest. The term “aerie” can also more generally describe any bird’s nest that is located on a cliff or a mountaintop.
122 “C’mon, slowpoke!” : MOVE IT!
Back in the early 1800s, a “poke” was a device attached to domestic animals such as pigs or sheep to keep them from escaping their enclosures. The poke was like a yoke with a pole, and slowed the animal down, hence the term “slowpoke”.
125 Mary Poppins, for one : NANNY
The “Mary Poppins” series of children’s novels were written by Australian-born English writer and actress P. L. Travers. Mary Poppins is a magical children’s nanny with a best friend Bert. In the famous 1964 musical film adaptation of the Mary Poppins stories, Poppins is played by Julie Andrews and Bert is played Dick Van Dyke.
Down
1 O-line anchor : CTR
Offensive line (O-line)
3 Trojans’ sch. : USC
The athletic teams of the University of Southern California are called the USC Trojans. The women’s teams are also called the Trojans, but are sometimes referred to as Women of Troy.
7 Jacob’s brother, in the Bible : ESAU
Esau was the twin brother of Jacob, the founder of the Israelites. When their mother Rebekah gave birth to the twins “the first emerged red and hairy all over (Esau), with his heel grasped by the hand of the second to come out (Jacob)”. As Esau was the first born, he was entitled to inherit his father’s wealth (it was his “birthright”). Instead, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for the price of a “mess of pottage” (a meal of lentils).
12 Response to the Little Red Hen : NOT I
“The Little Red Hen” is an old folk tale, probably from Russia. In the story, the little red hen finds a grain of wheat and asks for help to plant it. “Not I” is the response she gets, repeatedly. She does the work herself, eventually baking bread from the harvested grain. She asks for help in eating the bread, and gets lots of volunteers. But, the hen decides to save the bread for herself and her chicks, seeing as no one would help her plant the wheat in the first place.
13 Language related to Manx : ERSE
There are actually three Erse languages: Irish, Manx (spoken on the Isle of Man) and Scots Gaelic. In their own tongues, these would be “Gaeilge” (in Ireland), “Gaelg” (on the Isle of Man) and “Gaidhlig” (in Scotland).
14 Egg, e.g. : GAMETE
A gamete is a reproductive cell that has half the full complement of genes needed to make a normal cell. In sexual reproduction, it takes two gametes, one from each parent, to fuse into one cell which then develops into a new organism. The female gamete is the ovum, and the male the sperm.
15 Keats, for one : ODIST
English poet John Keats died in Rome in 1821, and is buried there in the Protestant Cemetery. His last wish was that his grave be marked with a tombstone bearing just the words “”Here lies One whose Name was writ in Water”, and no name nor a date. Keats’ friends honored his request to some extent, as the words were included on the stone and no name is given. The full epitaph reads:
This Grave
contains all that was Mortal
of a
Young English Poet
Who
on his Death Bed, in the Bitterness of his Heart
at the Malicious Power of his Enemies
Desired
these Words to be
engraven on his Tomb Stone:
Here lies One
Whose Name was writ in Water.
24 February 1821
16 Sounds in a yoga studio : OMS
“Om” is a sacred mystic word from the Hindu tradition. “Om” is sometimes used as a mantra, a focus for the mind in meditation.
17 Government economic org., at any rate? : FED
The Federal Reserve System is more usually known simply as “the Fed”, and is the central banking system of the US. It was introduced in 1913 in response to a number of financial panics at the beginning of the 20th century. The original role for the Fed was to act as a lender of last resort, in case there was a run on a bank. This can happen as most of the money that is deposited by customers in a bank is reinvested by that bank, so it has very little liquid cash available. If too many customers look for their money at one time, then the bank can be short of cash and this can start a “run”. The Fed’s responsibilities have broadened since those early days …
18 ___-Cat : SNO
The brand name “Sno-Cat” is owned by the Tucker company. All snowcats are tracked vehicles built to work in snow, and are famously used in expeditions to the polar regions. The modern Sno-Cat from Tucker differs from its competitors in that it has four independently-mounted tracks.
28 Big suit : CEO
Chief executive officer (CEO)
29 Derby, e.g. : HAT
I think that a bowler hat is usually called a derby here in the US. The bowler was first produced in 1849 in London by hatmakers Thomas and William Bowler, hence the name. The alternative name of “derby” comes from the tradition of wearing bowler hats at the Derby horse race (a major race held annually in England).
32 Take back, for short : REPO
Repossession (repo)
36 “Was it ___ I saw?” (classic palindrome) : A RAT
The three most famous palindromes in English have to be:
- Able was I ere I saw Elba
- A man, a plan, a canal, Panama!
- Madam, I’m Adam
One of my favorite terms is “Aibohphobia”, although it doesn’t appear in the dictionary and is a joke term. “Aibohphobia” is a great way to describe a fear of palindromes, by creating a palindrome out of the suffix “-phobia”.
38 Feeling it after a marathon, say : ACHY
The marathon commemorates the legendary messenger-run by Pheidippides from the site of the Battle of Marathon back to Athens, and is run over 26 miles and 385 yards. The first modern Olympic marathon races were run over a distance that approximated the length of the modern-day Marathon-Athens highway, although the actual length of the race varied from games to games. For the 1908 Olympics in London, a course starting at Windsor Castle and ending in front of the Royal Box at White City Stadium was defined. That course was 26 miles and 385 yards, the standard length now used at all Olympic Games. Organizers of subsequent games continued to vary the length of the race, until a decision was made in 1921 to adopt the distance used in London in 1908.
43 Achievement for Whoopi Goldberg, in brief : EGOT
Whoopi Goldberg’s real name is Caryn Elaine Johnson. Goldberg is multi-talented, and is one of a very short list of entertainers to have won all four major showbiz awards:
- an Oscar (for “Ghost”)
- an Emmy (two, for “The View”)
- a Grammy (for “Thoroughly Modern Millie”, as a producer)
- a Tony (also for producing “Thoroughly Modern Millie”)
47 Titus and Tiberius : EMPERORS
Titus Flavius Verspasianus was a successful military commander and Roman Emperor from 79 to 81 AD. It was Titus who laid siege to and destroyed the city and temple of Jerusalem, for which he was honored with the erection of the Arch of Titus that stands in Rome to this day. The Arch of Titus is the inspiration for many other famous arches around the world including the l’Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
Tiberius was the second Emperor of Rome and succeeded Augustus. Tiberius spent much of his later life away from Rome, not really wanting the responsibilities of emperor, but refusing to give up his power. Instead, he exiled himself from Rome leaving administrative control of the Empire to unscrupulous aides. Tiberius himself led a quiet life on the island of Capri. His death at the age of 77 was apparently hastened by a pillow placed over his face, an act ordered by his successor Caligula.
55 UPS competitor : DHL
Back in the sixties, Larry Hillblom was making pocket money as a Berkeley law student by doing courier runs between San Francisco and Los Angeles. After law school, Hillblom decided to parlay his experience into his own business and set up a courier service flying bills of lading ahead of freight from San Francisco to Honolulu. He brought in two buddies, Adrian Dalsey and Robert Lynn, as partners and the three were soon hopping on and off commercial flights and gradually making more and more money. And DHL was born … D (for Dalsey) H (for Hillblom) L (for Lynn). DHL was acquired by Germany’s Deutsche Post in 2002.
56 Steady, maybe : BEAU
A beau (plural “beaux”) is the boyfriend of a belle, a young lady. “Beau” and “belle” are the masculine and feminine forms of the French word for “handsome, beautiful”.
59 Exercise program since the 1990s : TAE BO
Tae Bo isn’t an ancient martial art, even though it perhaps sounds like one. The discipline was developed as a form of aerobic exercise in the 1990s by taekwondo expert Billy Blanks who gave it the name Tae Bo, a melding of “taekwondo” and “boxing”.
61 Peak sacred to the goddess Rhea : MT IDA
There are two peaks called Mount Ida that are sacred according to Greek mythology. Mount Ida in Crete is the island’s highest point, and is where one can find the cave in which Zeus was reared. Mount Ida in Asia Minor (located in modern-day Turkey) is where Ganymede was swept up by Zeus in the form of an eagle that took him to Olympus where he served as cupbearer to the gods.
In Greek mythology, Rhea was one of the Titans. She was the sister and wife of Cronus, and together they had six children, the last of which was Zeus. Cronus swallowed all of his children as soon as they were born, except for Zeus, who Rhea managed to hide from her husband.
62 Noshed on : ATE
Our word “nosh” has been around since the late fifties, when it was imported from the Yiddish word “nashn” meaning “to nibble”. We use “nosh” as a noun that means “snack”, or as a verb meaning “to eat between meals”.
65 Letter between foxtrot and hotel in the NATO alphabet : GOLF
The NATO phonetic alphabet is also called the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) phonetic alphabet. Alfa, Bravo, Charlie … X-ray, Yankee, Zulu.
70 “The Puzzle Palace” org. : NSA
“The Puzzle Palace” is a 1982 book by James Bamford that deals with the history of the National Security Agency (NSA). As perhaps might be expected, the release of the book was fraught with controversy. The Reagan administration threatened legal action if Bamford did not return classified documents that the government claimed were released in error. Those documents dealt with the illegal monitoring of domestic communication and surveillance of Americans without a warrant.
73 Creamy Italian dish : RISOTTO
Risotto is an Italian rice dish that is usually served as a first course in Italy, but as a main course here in North America.
77 Singer whom M.L.K. Jr. called the “queen of American folk music” : ODETTA
Odetta Holmes (or just “Odetta”) was a singer and a human rights activist. She has been cited as an influence by such singers as Harry Belafonte, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin and Carly Simon.
81 Companion in Brittany : AMIE
A Breton is a native of Brittany. Brittany is a large peninsula in the northwest of France that is known in French as “Bretagne”.
84 Brain diagnostics, for short : EEGS
An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a record of electrical activity caused by the firing of neurons within the brain. The EEG might be used to diagnose epilepsy, or perhaps to determine if a patient is “brain dead”.
85 Used as a rendezvous point : MET AT
A rendezvous is a meeting. The noun used in English comes from the French phrase “rendez vous” meaning “present yourselves”.
90 Fir tree : BALSAM
The Balsam fir is an evergreen tree that is native to eastern and central North America. The Balsam is commonly used as a Christmas tree, especially in the northeastern US.
92 Roman goddess of wisdom : MINERVA
Minerva was the Roman goddess of wisdom, and the equivalent of the Greek goddess Athena. Minerva is often depicted with an owl, signifying her association with wisdom.
95 Sugar ending : -OSE
Sugars are usually named using the “-ose” suffix e.g., glucose, fructose, sucrose.
96 W.W. II fighters : GIS
The initialism “GI” stands for “Government Issue”, and not “General Infantry” as is widely believed. “GI” was first used in the military to denote equipment made from Galvanized Iron and during WWI, incoming German shells were nicknamed “GI cans”. Soon after, the term GI came to be associated with “Government Issue” and eventually became an adjective to describe anything associated with the Army.
97 Apps made with jalapeños and cheese : POPPERS
Jalapeño poppers are jalapeño peppers that have been stuffed with cheese and spices, and then breaded and deep fried.
The jalapeño is a chili pepper, and a favorite of mine. The pepper’s name translates from Spanish as “from Xalapa”. Xalapa (also “Jalapa”) is the capital of the Mexican state of Veracruz, and the traditional origin of the jalapeño pepper. A smoke-dried jalapeño, called a chipotle, is used for seasoning.
99 Gathers some intel : RECONS
A “recon” (reconnaissance) might provide “intel” (intelligence).
101 Actor Brody : ADRIEN
Adrien Brody won a Best Actor Oscar for his performance in the Roman Polanski masterpiece “The Pianist”. Brody won the award in 2003 at the age of 29, making him the youngest person ever to receive the Best Actor Oscar.
104 Singer Willie : NELSON
Country singer, actor and activist Willie Nelson was born during the Great Depression in Abbott, Texas. He wrote his first song at the age of seven and joined his first band at the age of ten, and he is still going strong. Nelson has a ranch in Texas but now spends most of his time in Maui, where he lives in a largely self-sustaining community alongside neighbors such as Kris Kristofferson, Woody Harrelson and Owen Wilson.
110 Blood line : VEIN
Arteries are vessels that carry blood away from the heart, and veins are vessels carrying blood to the heart.
112 Temporal ___ : LOBE
The temporal lobe is one of the four main lobes of the brain, the others being the frontal lobe, parietal lobe and the occipital lobe. The temporal lobes (there is one on each side of the brain) are associated with visual memories, understanding language, and emotions. The “temporal” name comes from the fact that the lobes are located behind the temporal bones, the bones beneath the head’s temples. The temples are named from the Latin “tempus” meaning “time”. The idea is that a person’s age shows with greying of the hair at the temples.
Read on, or …
… return to top of page
Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1 Part of a pie or the earth : CRUST
6 Style that makes waves : PERM
10 Doe in a court case : JANE
14 Flubs : GOOFS
19 Keister : TUSHY
20 China holder? : ASIA
21 Axe target : ODOR
22 Some Madison Avenue workers : AD MEN
23 End of many a sports broadcast : RECAP
24 Freestyles, perhaps : RAPS
25 Barflies : SOTS
26 Botch : MISDO
27 “First, you’re going to want to dump out the box and ___” : PICK UP THE PIECES
31 Francis of old game shows : ARLENE
34 Bounded : LEAPT
35 Capital on a 126-mile-long canal that’s used as a skating rink in the winter : OTTAWA
39 English breakfast, e.g. : TEA
40 “What’s most useful next is to ___” : GO OVER THE EDGE
45 College app component : REC
46 Role for “Ronny” Howard : OPIE
48 Joshes : KIDS
49 State flower of Utah : SEGO
50 One of the B’s in BB&B : BATH
51 Field work of note in 1979 : NORMA RAE
54 Rifle, in frontier lingo : OLD BETSY
57 “To connect things up you’ll have to ___” : PLAY WITH MATCHES
63 Ones getting the crumbs? : PIGEONS
66 Bonnie with five Top 40 hits in the 1990s : RAITT
67 Euphoric feeling : ELATION
71 Love to bits : ADORE
72 More like a dive bar or certain bread : SEEDIER
74 Beehives, but not hornets’ nests : UPDOS
75 Daredevil’s hashtag : YOLO
76 Very in : HOT
78 One of the B’s in BB&B : BED
79 Good name for an investor? : IRA
82 High-end Italian auto, informally : ALFA
83 “As you go, make sure you exercise your ___” : FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
88 At peace : SERENE
89 Little bouquets : POSIES
90 “ka-POW!” : BAM!
93 “With patience and perseverance you’re sure to ___” : GET IT TOGETHER
97 Course goal : PAR
100 Songs that can be trilling? : ARIAS
102 Castigates : TEARS INTO
103 Fairy tale figure : GNOME
105 Confer, as credibility : LEND
106 Gets wild and crazy : PARTIES DOWN
108 Legendary : EPIC
109 Leave skid marks, maybe : SWERVE
111 N.F.L. standout : ALL-PRO
113 Homes for high fliers : AERIES
121 Instruction to drivers leaving cars at a garage : NOSE-IN
122 “C’mon, slowpoke!” : MOVE IT!
124 Ends, as a mission : ABORTS
125 Mary Poppins, for one : NANNY
127 Pick up on : SENSE
Down
1 O-line anchor : CTR
2 Feel regret : RUE
3 Trojans’ sch. : USC
4 Distinctive part of a cookie cutter : SHAPE
5 “Tap tap tap …” activity : TYPING
6 Get into a lot : PARK
7 Jacob’s brother, in the Bible : ESAU
8 Moved like waves or muscles : RIPPLED
9 A certain degree : MASTER’S
10 St. ___ University (Philadelphia school) : JOSEPH’S
11 Rescue dog, for one : ADOPTEE
12 Response to the Little Red Hen : NOT I
13 Language related to Manx : ERSE
14 Egg, e.g. : GAMETE
15 Keats, for one : ODIST
16 Sounds in a yoga studio : OMS
17 Government economic org., at any rate? : FED
18 ___-Cat : SNO
28 Big suit : CEO
29 Derby, e.g. : HAT
30 Menial laborer, metaphorically : COG
31 Loads : A TON
32 Take back, for short : REPO
33 Retreat : LAIR
36 “Was it ___ I saw?” (classic palindrome) : A RAT
37 Mists, e.g. : WETS
38 Feeling it after a marathon, say : ACHY
41 Approves : OKAYS
42 Perspective : VIEW
43 Achievement for Whoopi Goldberg, in brief : EGOT
44 Like cioccolato or torta : DOLCE
47 Titus and Tiberius : EMPERORS
50 Bosom buddies : BEST PALS
52 Staple of skin care : ALOE
53 Sought office : RAN
55 UPS competitor : DHL
56 Steady, maybe : BEAU
58 Wrath : IRE
59 Exercise program since the 1990s : TAE BO
60 Sharp, on a TV, informally : HI-DEF
61 Peak sacred to the goddess Rhea : MT IDA
62 Noshed on : ATE
63 “You’ll ___ for this!” : PAY
64 Words with a ring to them? : I DO
65 Letter between foxtrot and hotel in the NATO alphabet : GOLF
68 How people often scroll through social media : IDLY
69 “That’s gotta hurt!” : OOF!
70 “The Puzzle Palace” org. : NSA
72 More straight-faced : STONIER
73 Creamy Italian dish : RISOTTO
76 Word that becomes its own opposite by putting a “T” at the front : HERE
77 Singer whom M.L.K. Jr. called the “queen of American folk music” : ODETTA
80 Play again, as a TV special : RESHOW
81 Companion in Brittany : AMIE
84 Brain diagnostics, for short : EEGS
85 Used as a rendezvous point : MET AT
86 Devote : SPEND
87 Name suffix meaning “mountain” : -BERG
90 Fir tree : BALSAM
91 “Is it still a date?” : ARE WE ON?
92 Roman goddess of wisdom : MINERVA
94 Prefix with color or state : TRI-
95 Sugar ending : -OSE
96 W.W. II fighters : GIS
97 Apps made with jalapeños and cheese : POPPERS
98 “You agree?” (*nudge, nudge*) : AM I RITE?
99 Gathers some intel : RECONS
101 Actor Brody : ADRIEN
104 Singer Willie : NELSON
106 Annoying : PESTY
107 Grannies : NANAS
110 Blood line : VEIN
112 Temporal ___ : LOBE
Leave a comment (below), or …
… return to top of page
7 thoughts on “0808-21 NY Times Crossword 8 Aug 21, Sunday”
Comments are closed.
24:15 after correcting what seems to have become my usual “failure-to-check-crosses-following-a-fat-fingering” folly. (Hmm. FTCCFAFFF. I like it! … 😜)
And, I meant to compliment the setters for coming up with a very clever and new (well, new to me, anyway) gimmick.
I recently did a jigsaw puzzle for the first time in many, many years: a Eugene Maleska creation called “Double Dilemma” depicting the solution to a (quite difficult) crossword puzzle that appears on the box. The idea is to solve the crossword puzzle first and then put the jigsaw puzzle together to find out if your solution was correct. (Due to a suggestion from @Glenn, I found a copy of the thing on eBay.)
15:15. Had it in 14 but had to find a typo. Not much to comment on one way or another.
25:30 Kind of clever “puzzle within a puzzle” idea. Fairly quick Sunday time for me. I did this late Sat. evening and struggled for a bit in a couple places, but just can’t recall where those were.
35:06. A pretty leisurely solve. The SW gave me the most trouble, but I already had the theme figured out so I entered the gray boxes with ER and MO. After that, the corner filled in quickly. Pretty elaborate theme, I’ll admit.
I had A cAT before A RAT for 36D. Without worrying about crosses you could have cat, RAT, hat, mat, bat, vat or even tat there, and they’d all work in that palindrome.
Best –
Almost 1 and 1/2 hours but no errors…Jeff Chen and partner (always) puzzle…nuff said👎
Stay safe😀
38:58, no errors. A lot going on.