Punch and Judy - Devant Guignol (In Front of the Puppet Show) -- Paul-Michel Dupuy, 1869-1949
-----------------
Sunday, February 7, 2010
DIAGRAMLESS Puzzle by Joon Pahk, edited by Will Shortz
HIT PARADE (71A. Top 40, say … or a hint to the answers to the starred clues?), PUNCH LINE (6A. *Gag’s end), SMACK DAB (31`A. *Squarely), STRIKE OUT (38A. *Utterly fail), BATTER UP (52A. *Umpire’s cry at the start of an inning), CUFF LINK (4D. * Tuxedo shirt accessory), SOCK HOP (31D. *1950s social), SWAT TEAM (47D. *Elite police unit), yielding PUNCH, SMACK, STRIKE, BAT, CUFF and SWAT, comprise the interrelated group of this delightfully perplexing Second Sunday puzzle… well, actually, several small puzzles joined in the center by the letter K -- à propos!
Remaining across: 1. Puccini title heroine, TOSCA; 15. Consume eagerly, EAT UP; 16. 50/50, EVEN MONEY; 17. Long part of an arrow, SHAFT; 18. Put back, as after a demotion, REINSTATE; 19. Sport of horse racing with “the”, TURF; 20. Hate group, KLAN; 21. Borden bovine, ELSIE; 23. Inverse trigonometric function, ARCSINE; 30. Uses a chair, SITS; 32. Unfeeling, NUMB; 34. One who doesn’t belong, OUTSIDER; 35. It’s flexed in a genuflection, KNEE; 36. CBS procedural drama, CSI; 37. Bear: Sp., OSO; 42. Nafta member, USA; 45. Inst. Of learning, SCH; 46. Part of 9-Down, NEWS; 48. Empathize with, RELATE TO; 51. Flat-bottomed boat, SCOW; 53. Subject of Zen contemplation, KOAN; 55. Bratislavans, e.g., SLOVAKS; 56. 1:50, e.g., TEN TO; 57. Camper driver, for short, RVER; 59. Cultivate, TILL; 62. “That’s the right thing to do”, FAIR’S FAIR; 68. The press, MEDIA; 69. Guesses, ESTIMATES; 70. Cardio-boxing regimen, TAE BO; 72. Stockpile, AMASS.
Down: 1. The “T” in S.A.T., TEST; 2. Pearl Harbor locale, OAHU; 3. Rubbernecks, STARES; 5. Suitable, APT; 6. PERLE Mesta, the “hostess with the mostest”; 7. Part of a 14-Down, UVEA; 8. Nürnberg negative, NEIN; 9. “The Situation Room channel, CNN; 10. Letters on U.K. ships, HMS; 11. Parking place, LOT; 12. With 13-Down, how some fish are caught, IN A; 13. See 12-Down, NET; 14. Organ containing the 7-Down, EYE; 20. Destiny, KISMET; 22. Tases, maybe, STUNS; 23. Entertain, AMUSE; 24. Doles out, RATIONS; 25. They’re equivalent to mLs, CCS; 26. SKI mask; 27. “… and I’D DO it again!”; 28. Scottish negatives, NAES; 29. River of Iberia, EBRO; 33. Raging mad, BERSERK; 39. Beat for a maestro’s baton, ICTUS; 40. Sportscaster who played a sportscaster in “Major League”, UECKER; 41. Runners at first and second, say, TWO ON; 42. Metro areas, URBS; 43. Diploma feature, SEAL; 44. Voice below a mezzo, ALTO; 49. Off-roader: Abbr., ATV; 50. It may be brewing, TEA; 54. “Beats me”, NO IDEA; 56. Concise, TERSE; 57. Pro RATA; 58. Competed, VIED; 60. Ad-LIB (improvises); 61. Land on the Mekong, LAOS; 62. Expression of disgust, FEH; 63. “AS I was saying …”; 64. TV’s hirsute Cousin ITT; 65. Sharply criticize, RIP; 67. Not within walking distance, FAR; 68. Kingston Trio song about the Boston subway system, MTA.
Click on image to enlarge.
Puzzle available on the internet at
If you subscribe to home delivery of The New York Times you are eligible to access the daily crossword via The New York Times - Times Reader, without additional charge, as part of your home delivery.
