Puzzle by Richard Chisholm, edited by Will Shortz
Two answers -- PARTY (61A With 62-Across, clue for 19-, 37- and 50-Across) and LINE (62A See 61 Across) provide the clue for the answers of 19A POLITICALSCRIPT, 37A OLDPHONESERVICE and 50A HAVEWEMETBEFORE. Simple and clean, however, my noodle was in a tangle -- I just couldn’t get the right half of the puzzle, and by the time I did, the three long answers had appeared without being “solved”.
I had BOSOX instead of CELTS (42A Boston team, informally), stared at 9A The second of January? which turned out to be SHORTA, my personal life got in the way because I wouldn’t think of going to the SHORE (15A Vacation locale) for the clued reason because I live there, have never said HUH (36A Question from a person just awakened) when awakened (but have said some really raw things at times), couldn’t connect IDOL and its clue (62A False), had ASONE instead of ATONE [49D Joined (with)], wasn’t sure if RUBLES (46D Moscow moolah) was “e” before “l” or “l” before “e”, had ONTO for a spell instead of INON (60A Wise to) which I still think it should be, stared at POLITICAL---I-T, OLDPH--ESE----- and HAVEW----B--O-E and simply said “I’m speechless!”
Long story short, in desperation, I actually Googled (yes, I did!) 53A (80% of the Kentucky Derby) and got nothing -- I thought, I must be on the wrong track -- oh, track!, Googled "Kentucky Derby length" and got “in 1896 they changed the length of the Kentucky Derby to 1.25 miles” -- got past that, and said to myself, ETES (65A Form of “to be” with “vous”) isn’t clued that way (oh but it is!), and neither is ATONE clued the way it is (it is!) -- struggle I did but finally "finis”!
Illustrations: Above, 37A; Below, 19A, 37A and maybe 50A, (24A Long-tubed flower) CROCUS, photograph of croci taken in my front yard last month.
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