07.21.07
Antithesis
Wassily Kandinsky's "Composition VIII"1923; Oil on canvas; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
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Saturday, July 21, 2007
Puzzle by Raymond C. Young, edited by Will Shortz
All of the clues for this inscrutable crossword puzzle might as well be "word", "word", "word", etc. Perhaps the biggest exception is 1A Faux pa? - STEPFATHER. No, that can't be, one might say -- but yet it is, and then nothing! It's good there is as much variety in this crossword puzzle (or any, for that matter) or else one might very well see just "word" for every clue. The challenge in making a puzzle more difficult is to remove the entry as far away from the clue as possible without losing all connection between the two. Certainly, today's puzzle has achieved that task!
SECRETCODE (58A Something to crack); ENTROPY (9D Chaos); TITLING (2D Calling); TOORDER (38D Specially); NINEONEONE (15A Helpful figures?) ORIENTATED (56A Became adjusted); and SUPERHERO (46A DC figure) form a faux neologistic BROCADE (41D Weave a raised design into) with an AMORIST (12D Love lover) crossing an EROTICIST (22A Purveyor of hot stuff) in a mess of MANICOTTI (11D Italian for "sleeves") and TAPIOCA (36D Dessert Calvin doesn't like in "Calvin and Hobbes") for those with NOTASTE (13D Blandness) for HOHOS (47A Snack cake brand since 1967) -- a veritable esoterica upon a palpable pyre of Pyrrhonism, and PLENTYMORE (19A Enough for everyone to have seconds)!
TSAR (26D The first one ruled 1547-84) and VLAD (31D 15th-century prince of Wallalchia) and ATTIRED (40D Not au naturel) ATTENDANTS (17A Retinue) LAWLESSLY (29D How a mob acts) challenge the IRENIC (44D Peaceful) and ENTENTE (3D Dove's desire) with words like NEUTRAL (35D Uncommitted) and SLAY (57A Whack) wielding a handy ICEAXE (23D Scaling aid) CLOSETO (39D Almost at) a villainy that's AGELESS (28A Opposite of ephemeral) -- and there are still leftovers!
OPERAMUSIC (50A Libretto accompaniment), SIESTAS (14D Breaks in the heat?), HANDCAMERA (54A Little shooter), ASSIGNS (34A Gives out), TEAMERS (7D Special-______[football players used only in specific situations]), SEAEAR (25D Abalone), are several more long entries with languid clues.
Other people in the puzzle include HONORE (8D French novelist d'Urfe), COSTA (27A 2002 French Open winner Albert), GROS (53A French painter of Napoleonic scenes), MATT (52A "Futurama" creator Groening), and YVETTES (30A "Moesha" actress Wilson and others) -- none of which I've ever heard of in my life!
I'm not committng any of this to memory... Oh, maybe SNAPPEA (1D Stir-fry vegetable) and the clue for NOTE (18A One given a staff position?) -- plus, I really wanted 38A Something often looked for on a rainy day (TAXICAB) to be a RAINBOW!
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