07.05.07

TB or not TB


Thursday, July 5, 2007

Puzzle by Elizabeth C. Gorski, edited by Will Shortz

Featured are six inter-related entries and their clues:

TBS (45A Cable channel… with a hint to the answers to the five starred clues)
TBALLEQUIPMENT (20A “*Undersized bats and gloves, e.g.)
TBONE (30A *Chophouse order)
TBOONEPICKENS (37A *Founder of Mesa Petroleum)
TBARS (42A *Alternatives to rope tows)
TBILISIGEORGIA (55A *Caucasus capital)

Not included in this list of TB's are (1) T-Bird which was in yesterday's puzzle, and (2) my brother's initials.

The T and B are not of much help in solving the puzzle -- one needs to have nearly completed the puzzle in order to know what kind of “hint” the clue for 45A might be -- and the pay-off is minimal and dull.

This puzzle feels lifeless after a rip-roaring holiday demolished the usual calm of mid-week, and frankly, it’s hard to care about. Solving this crossword felt like a chore -- not as bad as taking out the garbage or raking the yard, but a bit like cleaning up after the cook-out in the backyard -- it had to be done!

Leftovers from the holiday include KABOB (62A Serving from a grill), OTIS (1A Revolutionary James ____, famous for saying “Taxation without representation is tyranny”). The longer entries include GAMEPLANS (5D Strategies); SCRAPESBY (35D Makes a very modest living); TWINBORN (10D Like Romulus and Remus); MUSTANGS (11D Southern Methodist team, with “the”); TUBETOPS (37D Stretchy attire); BRAMBLES (38D Hiking hazards); and ODETTA (1D “Gonna Let it Shine” singer).


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Read Linda G at Madness...Crossword and Otherwise

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