Friday, March 21, 2008
Puzzle by Peter A. Collins, edited by Will Shortz
T.G.I.F. is not always de rigueur, but here we are on Good Friday at least thinking so, for oddly, it is a holiday for the stock market!
Thorns in the form of ROSEBUSHES (1A. They have many sticking points) leads off four groups of three ten-letter entries, accompanied by ERASERHEAD (15A. 1978 cult film with a mutant child) and POLARBEARS (17A. Sealing fans) -- ha-ha-get-it “ceiling fans“…
The second set of three ten-letter entries are comprised of OCEANLINER (54A. Choice for intercontinental travel); TESTTAKING (57A. Student activity); and BETSYWETSY (59A. Doll that was once a going thing) -- ha-ha-get-it “going thing“… For a third set, upper right are FIRSTORDER (14D. Simplest, in math and logic); AMELIORATE (13D. Ease); and SQUEEZEBOX (12D. Zydeco instrument) -- ha-ha-get-it “accordian“… Finally, down left are and ORANGEZEST (26D. Marmalade ingredient); RAKELEAVES (25D. Tidy up the lawn, in a way); and finally, ADAMANDEVE (24D. Opening pair?).
OSMOSIS (35A. One way to get through a wall) appears to be the other lone deliberate entry, being placed in the center of the puzzle. All of the remaining entries are, of course, happenstance. By that, I mean to say, secondary to the choice of long entries. One might add URBANDESIGN (6D Architectural sub discipline) and MARINCOUNTY (23D. Home to San Quentin State Prison) due to their length, even though they are partially controlled by the groupings of long entries above and below.
The remaining entries are somewhat shorter -- six-letter entries are AROUND, BERLIN, COAXER, EEYORE, LIESON, NEESON, MADEIT, OUTLAW; five-letter, ABOUT, ANEST, BOATS, DAZES, HEATS, INOUT, LASTS, NAMES, NAMES, NIELS, OLMOS, SERTA, SHESA, TINAS, USAID; four-letter, AUER, DART, EARS, EMER, ESTA, EVER, ICEE, JENS, ONIT, ORGY, OROS, REPO, SALT, SOSA, SQMI, USAF, VEST, VOTE; and three-letter, AKA, ALG, BAD, ERR, ESA, IKE, MEN, MGR, OJO, OST, OTB, SAM, SDS, TUT, TUT, VAT, YOS, and ZOO.
The main chore for the authors of a puzzle of this nature is to write clues for the leftovers that will render those unmalleable entries seem intended.
Yesterday I was struck by the number of times that the word “hate” was used in seeming dead earnest in another crossword blog . One can only hope that beyond the thorns, those who hate may find love.
White Rose, photo by Harold Davis.
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