Janet Leigh as Marion Crane in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho”
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Thursday, March 27, 2008
Puzzle by Joe Krozel, edited by Will Shortz
CRANE (49D. Word defined by 20-, 36- and 51-Across);
STRETCHONESNECK (20A. See 49-Down);
NOVELISTSTEPHEN (36A. See 49-Down);
LARGEWADINGBIRD (51A. See 49-Down) are this Thursday puzzle’s inter-related entries.
Strangely, first to come to mind was the construction crane that fell here in New York City; and, of course, Janet Leigh’s role in Psycho as the doomed Marion Crane. Or the inimitable Ichabod!
CAMERASHY (11D. Hard to take?) sat looking at me without registering, but the electronic puzzle thing said it was correct -- Oh! Camera shy! GINNIEMAE (18A. Federally guaranteed security) is spelled out differently than I had thought. PARABOLA (38D. Graph of the equation y = ax2 + bx + c) just sort of filled itself in from the acrosses. EVERGREEN (32D. Oscar-winning song from “A Star Is Born”) is from a version of that tale I’ve never seen, I’ve only seen Judy Garland and Janet Gaynor play the role in which Barbra Streisand flopped, but won her second Oscar for authorship of the aforementioned song. ONEONONES (56A. Private chats) wanted to be tête-à-tête!
DATELINE (4D. Start of many a story), read as "news"; BALLPARK (25A. Diamond setting) which I wished to be something more solid, like a rock on a finger; WARBRIDE (42A. Cary Grant played a male one in 1949), AZALEAS (22A. Showy shrubs); FINANCE (47A. Back); CASSINI (21D. Designer for Jackie Kennedy); and LETMEIN (27D. What “knock knock” may mean) are the remaining longer entries.
Of the shorter entries, those of six-letters include ANGLED, ANTHEM, BUGOUT, ISOLDE, LARSEN, PRENUP, SEEPED, STATEN. Five-letter, ALLAT, BETHE, DEARES, EDNAS, ELENA, FISTS, HIGHS, LOGAN, LOTTA, NIGER, PLOTZ, SALSA, SPUDS, ULTRA. Four-letter, ADEN, ANEW, ANIS, ANOX, APSE, AYES, BRAC, DELE, DIEU, DORA, ERNE, EXES, HOPE, ILER, ISNT, KENS, LODI, OLIO, PCBS, PENN, RARE, RHEE, SEEK, VOLT, WOVE. Three-letter, EAR, ERE, GUS, INS, OUR, and SHE.
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