Sunday, August 30, 2009
LITERALLY SO, Puzzle by Ashish Vengsarkar and Narayan Venkatasubramanyan, edited By Will Shortz
The clues for the interrelated group of this Sunday puzzle are constituted by both the in-all-caps clues with missing letters and the missing letters sequentially -- for TAKE OUT OF CONTEXT (23. -IRC-S-ANCES, missing C-U-T; BLOODLESS REVOLUTION (36. ANTI--VERNMENT UN--ST), G-O-R-E; THE MISSING LINK (52. AR--CL-), T-I-E; DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS (70. P---ARY CARE PHY-ICIANS), R-I-M-S; SPARE NO EXPENSE (86. FI-TH-WH--L), F-E-E; EATS SHOOTS AND LEAVES (98. WHAT A -ANDA DOES IN -EIS-RELY FA-HION), P-L-U-S; LEMON DROP COOKIES (121. W--THL-SS R-AD-TER), O-R-E-O-S. I found the gimmick made for an irritating and clumsy solve, whether or not it might be considered clever.
A few links -- DIES IRAE (29. Hymn whose second line is “Solvet saeclum in favilla”); LOMILOMI (107A. Hawaiian massage); AGATHAS (27A. Mystery writers’ awards); BONITO (36D. Mackerellike fish); METHANE (53D. Dangerous buildup in a mine); OSCAR (126A. 8 ½-pound statue).
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For today’s cartoon, go to The Crossword Puzzle Illustrated.
For the complete post, go HERE.
