Monday, July 2, 2007
Puzzle by Peter A. Collins, edited by Will Shortz
Five inter-related entries -- BEFOREHAND (58A Earlier ... or a hint to the words circled in 17-, 21-, 37- and 51-Across), along with STUCCOWALL (17A Masonry work that may be smoothed with a trowel); STIFFARMING (21A Shoving away, football-style); WORSECONDITIONS (37A More rain and less light, e.g., to a pilot); and TIMESTABLES (51A Some memorization in arithmetic class) -- which results in the visualization of "cowhand", "farmhand", "secondhand", and "stable hand" (not to be confused with "stableboy" or "stableman"). The circles are faint and hard to see, but can be discerned by clicking to enlarge the image of the completed puzzle.
I am all for entertaining the possibility of a "stablehand" if for no other reason than it makes such a rounded rural grouping of inter-related entries on a Monday, when so many of us trudge back to the urban settings of highways and highrises. This is a perfect Monday puzzle with which only a curmudgeon would quibble!
Two Shortzesque-clued entries, COOP (28A Hen's place) and ROOST (22D Hen's place), along with CATS (43A Tabbies), SIRE (27D Father), WIS (18D State known for its cheese: Abbr.), POTS (32D Flower holders), and somehow FAIR (54D Light-skinned) (I'm thinking of the county fair!) all add to the rural setting.
Good old standard puzzle-people names are everywhere -- CHE (7A Revolutionary Guevara), HAL (15A Actor Holbrook), LANA (16A Turner of Hollywood), FOSSE (23A Director Bob who won a Tony, Oscar and Emmy all in the same year), JASON (25A Quester for the Golden Fleece), ELIA (57A Director Kazan), ARA (61A Coach Parseghian), ELLA (9D Singer Fitzgerald), ODIN (29D Chief Norse god), RAMIS (11D Harold who directed "Groundhog Day"), and ANNE (55D Actress Heche). New to me is ABFAB (48D Popular BBC import, for short).
"It's a sin to tell ALIE" (30A), Ill-GOTTEN gains (41A), Sault STE Marie (40A), COSA Nostra (1D) and SLO-mo replay (49D) are the fill-in-the-blank clues. On the road, there's SPEEDS (31A Goes 80, say), RIDE (42A Hitchhiker's need), FAA (54A Airport overseer: Abbr.) and, of course, the aforementioned WORSECONDITIONS, with the thought of STOP anagrammed to POTS anagrammed to SPOTS, minus the "S", while sharing full anagrams of each other are ELIA and ALIE.
JAWS (25D 1975 thriller that took a big bite at the box office) and ADES (56D Citrus coolers) anticipate July 4th and the beach, where there may be a FAIR for all to RIDE -- with that, EGADS, this OMITS IRON and CREASE and OUSTS me right out of here, so I'll CLAMUP, WILCO (46D Radio word after "Roger"), uh, "will comply", and say AMEN (19A Grace finisher) to this Monday gem!
Oh, below is the RIDE at the FAIR I promised!
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