Thursday,
------------------- For today’s cartoon, go to The Crossword Puzzle Illustrated. For the complete post, go HERE.
06.11.09
America the Beautiful
June 11, 2009 Puzzle by Alex Boisvert, edited by Will Shortz This early Flag Day crossword is prefaced with the note: After finishing this puzzle, color the circled squares blue, and color all the Across answers containing an "R" red, to reveal an image related to the puzzle's theme. Three interrelated entries are featured -- AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL (36A. Whence “Thine alabaster cities gleam” lyric), DON’T TREAD ON ME (49A. 1775 flag motto) and MOUNT RUSHMORE (30A. “Heads for the hills” locale?). To state the obvious, the 19x13 grid, the circled squares and the Across answers containing the letter “R” have nothing to do with solving the crossword. However, who cares? The result is a truly glorious image of Old Glory. Our patriotic puzzle is more or less a half-dozen small crosswords, one in each corner and a mish-mash in the center, making for some stop-and-go solving as there are slim corridors leading from one section of the crossword to another. Scattered links: 1A. Bikini blast, A-TEST; 1D. Hawk’s home, ATLANTA; 16D. “The Terminator” man Kyle REESE; 50D. Jazz’s Peterson, OSCAR; 48A. Mideast capital, SANA; 42D. Like Bar-Ilan University, ISRAELI; 9A. Bugs, IRKS; 34A. Poker champ Ungar, STU; 58A. Lucy of “Kill Bill”, LIU; 6D. “Air Music” composer, ROREM; 11D. Hawaiian tourist attraction, KILAUEA; 31D. NUEVO León (Mexican state bordering Texas); 39D. Oil production site?, ATELIER; 41D. Stately thing in Browning’s “Oh, to be in England … “, ELM TREE; 56D. Whom Bugs bugs, ELMER. America, the Beautiful!
