Idols & Idyls
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Friday, July 25, 2008
Puzzle by John Farmer, edited by Will Shortz
The entry of JUMPINJACKFLASH (7D. Rolling Stones hit just before “Honky Tonk Women”) sports 12 black squares on its sides that fairly well divide this crossword in half, while the three remaining squares to either side of the 15-letter entry both contain ONE in the entries of ONEONONES (31D. Some court contests) and APOLLOONE (8D. Ill-fated NASA effort) and NAN (38A. Britton who wrote “The President’s Daughter,” 1927) as the three-letter across entry binding the down entries. SOJOURNERS (30A. Visitors) and TIMEPIECES (40A. Ones with read faces?) connect the center to the four corners of the crossword.
It appears that with “The President’s Daughter” Nan Britton wrote what is considered to be the first kiss-and-tell book, one in which she claimed to have been the mistress of President Warren G. Harding, and that Harding was the father of her daughter, Elizabeth Ann. One passage mentions their making love in a coat closet in the executive office of the White House. Déjà vu!
A few links: UPACREEK (16A. In Dutch); HASHEESH (62A. Weed); WATTLE (22A. Turkey‘s dewlap); and for the across clues of 35. Cousin of a woodcock; 39. Fifth-century pope, the first to receive the title “the Great”; 56. “Your children are not your children” poet; 57. Bank of America Stadium team; and for the down clues of 2. Quaker Oats product; 5. TV announcer who played himself in “Bananas”; 9. Jazz pianist/composer Williams; 13. Five-time Horse of the Year, 1960-64; 47. Legendary MacGregor; 49. Florida’s OCALA National Forest; and with no link, 58. Invention that’s not thought highly of -- LIE.
As to the origins of Jumpin’ Jack Flash, The Rolling Stones’ Richards has stated that he and Jagger wrote the lyrics while staying at Richards' country house, where they were woke up one morning by the sound of the gardener, Jack Dyer, walking past their window. When Jagger asked what the noise was, Richards responded: "Oh, that's Jack - that's jumpin' Jack." However, Jagger said in a 1995 interview with the publication Rolling Stone that the song arose "...out of all the acid of Satanic Majesties... It's about having a hard time and getting out. Just a metaphor for getting out of all the acid things." Hear it HERE.
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For today’s cartoon, go to The Crossword Puzzle Illustrated.
For the complete post, go HERE.
