08.01.10 — Play Bargaining
Sunday, August 1, 2010
PLAY BARGAINING, Puzzle by Brendan Emmett Quigley, edited by Will Shortz
In this fine, but standard Sunday crossword, we, Sharpie, Lee, be, spree, valley, she, free, tree and G of common phrases, a long E sound changes into a long A sound to spell out uncommon phrases — WEIGH THREE KINGS (21A. Put a few monarchs on the scale?), SHAR-PEI PEN (29A. Wrinkly dog holder?), GENERAL LEI (105A. Floral garland for whoever?), TO BAY OR NOT TO BAY (114A. Indecisive wolf’s question?), SHOPPING SPRAY (15D. Mist from a mall?), VALET GIRL (27D. Miss who parks cars?), CHEZ DEVIL (33D. In hell?), FANCY FRAY (58D. Brawl at a ball?), THE GIVING TRAY (56D. Generous carhop’s prop?), JAY STRING (62D. Leno’s necklace?).
Other across — 1. Grinder toppings, ONIONS; 7, Supreme Court justice nominated by Reagan, SCALIA; 13. Real-life actor Joe who is a character in Broadway’s “Jersey Boys”, PESCI; 18. Bunny’s covering?, SKI-SUIT; 19. Bent nails, TALONS; 20. Furniture retailer ETHAN Allen; 33. Espresso topping, CREMA; 39.8. Obama whose Secret Service code name is “Rosebud”, SASHA; 40. Snobbery, ELITISM; 42. Location for a fall, TRAP DOOR; 45. Bank claims, LIENS; 48. Helped with the laundry, IRONED; 51. Cords behind a computer, often, TANGLE; 54. Word with a German request, BITTE; 7. Blew by a drummer, maybe, FIFED; 59. Played the tourist, SIGHT-SAW; 62. Smoking character, JOE CAMEL; 68. Gel, HARDEN; 69. Golfer’s wear, VISORS; 74. Amsterdam air hub, SCHIPHOL; 77. Company that merged with Sony in 2001, ERICSSON; 80. Brunonian rival, YALIE; 81. Compromise of 1877 president, HAYES; 82. 1996 Grammy winner for the album “The Road to Ensenada”, LOVETT; 85. Alternate road, DETOUR; 89. Poll answer choice, AGREE; 91. Famed Fokker flier, RED BARON; 95. Toward the middle, CENTRIC; 98. “Why is this happening to me?!”, AARGH; 103. With honor, NOBLY; 112. Duel overseer in “Hamlet”, OSRIC; 120. John Mason NEALE, English priest who wrote “Good King Wenceslaus”; 121. Accustoms, INURES; 122. Hair-texturizing tool, CRIMPER; 123. Heretofore, AS YET; 125. Observation, ESPIAL.
Other down — 1. Battle site of 1945, OKINAWA; 2. River on the Benin border, NIGER; 6. Secure, with “in”, STRAP; 7. Breastbone-related, STERNAL; 11. Hearth, INGLE; 12. Take as a given, ASSUME; 16. Leonard Bernstein called her “The Bible of opera”, CALLAS; 17. Enlighten, INFORM; 18. Brazilian mister, SENHOR; 21. “I WASN’T ready!”; 30. Military chaplain, PADRE; 35. Arterial implant, STENT; 39. “Attack!, SIC ‘EM; 41. Baking spuds, IDAHOS; 44. Served seconds, say, REFED; 49. Cuts up, in a way, DICES; 52. Punjabi capital, LAHORE; 53. Oil family of TV, EWINGS; 54. Oil unit, BARREL; 55. First player to hit an inside-the-park home run during an All-Star Game, 2007, ICHIRO; 64. Oily substance, LIPID; 68. Prynne of “The Scarlet Letter”, HESTER; 70. Absolute, SHEER; 75. Hardly a fan, HATER; 78. Bird and others, once, CELTS; 81. When doubled, “I like!”, HUBBA; 90. Game in which it’s easy to make a mess, EGG TOSS; 92. Change tags on, RELABEL; 93. Mop brand that “makes your life easier”, O-CEDAR; 94. Whooping, NOISY; 95. Dos Equis competitor, CORONA; 96. Clears, ERASES; 97. Louse, COOTIE; 104. Where hip-hop was born, with “the” BRONX; 106. F.D.R. veep John NANCE Garner; 107. Parkinson’s battler, L-DOPA.
Short stuff — ACHY, AGAL, ALI, ANNE, ARC and ARE, ATRA, AWRY, AYES, BUC, CAKY, CZAR, DADS, ECO and ETO, EDEN, EROO, EWES, EYE, HERR, ICET, ICON, IGOR, ILE and ILER, ISH, ITOO, LEB, LON, LUVS, NIH, NOW, ODER, OREO, ORS and ORGS, OUT, PEWS, PHI, PITY (43D. “The scavenger of misery“, per Shaw), PLO, RAT and RAFT, RANA, RHE, RIG, RON, SARA and SARG, SPAR, TELE, TIO and TIP, TMI (119. “I didn’t need to know that,” in modern lingo).
-----------------
UNDERSHAFT [with biting contempt] You lust for personal righteousness, for self-approval, for what you call a good conscience, for what Barbara calls salvation, for what I call patronizing people who are not so lucky as yourself.
CUSINS. I do not: all the poet in me recoils from being a good man. But there are things in me that I must reckon with: pity--
UNDERSHAFT. Pity! The scavenger of misery.
CUSINS. Well, love.
UNDERSHAFT. I know. You love the needy and the outcast: you love the oppressed races, the negro, the Indian ryot, the Pole, the Irishman. Do you love the Japanese? Do you love the Germans? Do you love the English?
CUSINS. No. Every true Englishman detests the English. We are the wickedest nation on earth; and our success is a moral horror
— Major Barbara, Act III, George Bernard Shaw
-----------------
Click on image to enlarge.
Puzzle available on the internet at
THE NEW YORK TIMES — Crossword Puzzles and Games.
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.
Remaining clues — ACROSS: 24. Sister of Charlotte and Emily; 25. All wrong; 26. Huggies rival; 28. Gaza Strip org.; 36. “I said - __!”; 37. Firecracker’s trajectory; 47., Location for the Fall; 50. Political appointee; 61. Hurting; 65. Relative in the barrio; 66. The golden ratio; 67. Line score letters; 71. N.B.A. All-Star Artest; 72. Tractor-trailer; 73. One with a pupil; 76. Puppeteer Tony; 82. Camper’s rental; 88. Robert of “The Sopranos”; 100. Its cap. Is Beirut; 101. Prefix with tour; 102. Mensa and others: Abbr.; 108. Kangaroo ___; 109. Character with a prominent back; 110. Gillette model; 111. Many P.T.A. members. DOWN: 3. -like equivalent; 4. Available for purchase; 5. Biomedical research agcy.; 8. Clumped; 9. “Prince ___” (“Aladdin” song); 10. Basketball coach Kruger; 13. Sunday seats; 14. W.W. II zone: Abbr.; 22. Things shepherds shepherd; 31. Suffix with stink; 32. Only thing between you and an open window?; 34. ___ close second (almost won); 46. Yearbook signers: Abbr.; 60. “Am ___ fat?”; 63. Mousse pie ingredient, maybe; 76. ___ Lee bakery; 79. Publisher of Shooting Illustrated, for short; 84. “___ in Calico” (jazz standard); 86. Prefix with copier; 87. River to the Baltic; 99. Austrian title; 109. Entertainer born Tracy Marrow; 110. Cries made in passing?; 113. Saint-Martin, e.g.; 115. Winning Super Bowl XXXVII gridder; 116. Exist; 117. Surgery sites, for short; 118. 20%, maybe.
08.01.10 — Mostly Harmless — the Acrostic
“The history of the Galaxy has got a little muddled, for a number of reasons…“
-----------------
Sunday, August 1, 2010
ACROSTIC, Puzzle by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon, edited by Will Shortz
This Sunday's delightful acrostic gets an oh-so-true quotation from Mostly Harmless a novel by Douglas Adams, the fifth book in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. The title derives from a joke early in the series, when Arthur Dent discovers that the entry for Earth in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy consists, in its entirety, of the word "Harmless." — A review states: "an interesting hotchpotch of action (and cutting between various cliff-hanger scenes), philosophy, stand-up comic perspectives of the everyday, domestic sit-com, satirical SF, and Douglas' own pleasure in blithely hurling his characters through six impossible things before breakfast. The plot is surprisingly coherent although occasionally incidental..."
— Amazon.com
The quotation: THE MAJOR DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A THING THAT MIGHT GO WRONG AND A THING THAT CANNOT POSSIBLY GO WRONG IS THAT WHEN A THING THAT CANNOT POSSIBLY GO WRONG GOES WRONG IT TURNS OUT TO BE IMPOSSIBLE TO GET AT OR REPAIR.
The author's name and the title of the work: DOUGLAS ADAMS MOSTLY HARMLESS
The defined words:
A. Epic with stanzas in the form a-b-a-b-a-b-c-c (2 wds.), DON JUAN
B. Potentially, a decking combo (hyph.), ONE-TWO
C. Early Stevie Wonder hit subtitled “Everything’s Alright”, UPTIGHT
D. Author with an abecedarian series, GRAFTON
E. Bitten apple, for example, LOGO
F. One asked to referee, ARBITER
G. Without any change in the original melody, STRAIGHT
H. Producer of honeydew, ANT COW
I. Pain inflicted by a pointer, perhaps (2 wds.), DOG BITE
J. Man who knew Who was on first, ABBOTT
K. Delicate or dainty, to a butcher, MIGNON
L. Mouse, SHINER
M. “Too much of a good thing can be wonderful” speaker (2 wds.), MAE WEST
N. Too blue for you to view, say, OBSCENE
O. Someone who minds, SITTER
P. Tom Sawyer’s sweetheart Becky, THATCHER
Q. Intended to thwart ballooning (hyph.), LOW-FAT
R. Swift savages, YAHOOS
S. Shorts made popular by Mary Quant (2 wds.), HOT PANTS
T. Impassiveness; indifference, APATHY
U. Without a moment’s dawdling (2 wds.), RIGHT NOW
V. When an aubade is played, MORNING
W. Able to move supply, LITHE
X. Creamy glassful that might include rum, EGGNOG
Y. Worried, fretting, STEWING
Z. Elastic storer of mechanical energy, SPRING
-----------------
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.
Photo Gallery: 2011 Ford Explorer
After weeks of Ford’s infuriating teasers regarding the all-new Explorer, the SUV will start from $28,995 – $1,000 less than the outgoing model. The new Explorer marks a major departure from the outgoing model as the 7 seater model by switching from a BOF (body-on-frame) to a uni-body structure with independent front and rear suspension – shared with the Ford Taurus sedan and Flex. Ford said despite adding more features on the all-new Explorer, engineers were able to reduce gross vehicle weight by around 45kg (100lbs) through the use of lighter materials such as an aluminium bonnet.
Out goes the previous V8 petrol engine for a new base 3.5 litre Ti-VCT V6 engine that produces 290bhp (294PS) and 345Nm (255lb-ft) of torque. This means the 2011 Explorer is 20% more fuel efficient. However, with the towing package, the V6 can haul up to 2,268kg (5,000lbs).
Optional is the all-new 2.0 litre turbocharged 4 cylinder EcoBoost petrol engine, producing 237bhp (240PS) and 339Nm (250lb-ft) of torque from 1,700 rpm. Front wheel drive is standard on all models, but only the AWD is available on the 3.5 litre Ti-VCT engine. Both engines are linked to a 6 speed automatic transmission. Expected is a 355bhp, 3.5 litre turbocharged V6 EcoBoost engine that will be added to the range in the future.
The AWD features a Land Rover-esque Terrain Response. This terrain management system has four settings (normal, mud, sand and snow) and is controlled via a console-mounted knob. This also features hill-descent control. Bi-xenon headlamps will be standard on plusher grades, while Adaptive cruise control and collision warning with brake support and BLIS® (Blind Spot Information System) with cross-traffic alert will be optional.
The entry-level Explorer, called Base will come standard with a 4.2” LCD touch-screen w/ MyFord driver connect, MyKey, air-conditioning w/ air filtration system, Easy Fuel capless fuel filler system, cruise control, tyre perssure monitoring system, x6 airbags, electric power steering, front & rear electric windows w/one touch auto down for driver, remote-control locking w/safety rear door locks, tilt & telescopic steering wheel, x4 12v power points and cargo hooks.
Mid-spec XLT adds rain & dusk sensors, 6 speed SelectShift automatic transmission, electrically adjustable/heated door mirrors w/LED indicators and puddle lamps, SecuriCode™ keyless entry keypad, rear parking sensors and anti-theft alarm.
Flagship Limited includes XLT specification and electric folding door mirrors w/driver’s memory, ambient lighting, electrically adjustable pedals w/memory, cargo net, climate control, 10 way electrically adjustable fronts seats, auto-dimming rear-view mirror, reversing camera, remote start system, 110v power outlet, keyless entry & start and Universal garage door opener.
According to Derrick Kuzak, group vice president of Global Product Development, "The new Explorer simply does everything well. It raises the bar for ride and handling on the road and transforms the off-road experience. It's the hands-down winner for towing capability and ease. All this capability - and three rows of seating - with amazing fuel economy will make Explorer the absolute right choice for families with a sense of adventure."
Look for the 2011 Explorer to arrive at dealerships in Winter, just in time for the snow.
Out goes the previous V8 petrol engine for a new base 3.5 litre Ti-VCT V6 engine that produces 290bhp (294PS) and 345Nm (255lb-ft) of torque. This means the 2011 Explorer is 20% more fuel efficient. However, with the towing package, the V6 can haul up to 2,268kg (5,000lbs).
Optional is the all-new 2.0 litre turbocharged 4 cylinder EcoBoost petrol engine, producing 237bhp (240PS) and 339Nm (250lb-ft) of torque from 1,700 rpm. Front wheel drive is standard on all models, but only the AWD is available on the 3.5 litre Ti-VCT engine. Both engines are linked to a 6 speed automatic transmission. Expected is a 355bhp, 3.5 litre turbocharged V6 EcoBoost engine that will be added to the range in the future.
The AWD features a Land Rover-esque Terrain Response. This terrain management system has four settings (normal, mud, sand and snow) and is controlled via a console-mounted knob. This also features hill-descent control. Bi-xenon headlamps will be standard on plusher grades, while Adaptive cruise control and collision warning with brake support and BLIS® (Blind Spot Information System) with cross-traffic alert will be optional.
The entry-level Explorer, called Base will come standard with a 4.2” LCD touch-screen w/ MyFord driver connect, MyKey, air-conditioning w/ air filtration system, Easy Fuel capless fuel filler system, cruise control, tyre perssure monitoring system, x6 airbags, electric power steering, front & rear electric windows w/one touch auto down for driver, remote-control locking w/safety rear door locks, tilt & telescopic steering wheel, x4 12v power points and cargo hooks.
Mid-spec XLT adds rain & dusk sensors, 6 speed SelectShift automatic transmission, electrically adjustable/heated door mirrors w/LED indicators and puddle lamps, SecuriCode™ keyless entry keypad, rear parking sensors and anti-theft alarm.
Flagship Limited includes XLT specification and electric folding door mirrors w/driver’s memory, ambient lighting, electrically adjustable pedals w/memory, cargo net, climate control, 10 way electrically adjustable fronts seats, auto-dimming rear-view mirror, reversing camera, remote start system, 110v power outlet, keyless entry & start and Universal garage door opener.
According to Derrick Kuzak, group vice president of Global Product Development, "The new Explorer simply does everything well. It raises the bar for ride and handling on the road and transforms the off-road experience. It's the hands-down winner for towing capability and ease. All this capability - and three rows of seating - with amazing fuel economy will make Explorer the absolute right choice for families with a sense of adventure."
Look for the 2011 Explorer to arrive at dealerships in Winter, just in time for the snow.
Priyanka Chopra at launch of Sonal Kalras Book
Priyanka Chopra at launch of Sonal Kalras Book. Gorgeous Priyanka Chopra in short pink skirt present at the launch of Sonal Kalras Book “A Calmer You”. Sonal Kalras is the editor of HT City, Delhi. Priyanka Chopra read out some excerpts from the book, after that she mention that, it was clear that this was a fun read, with humorous tips on how to handle stress in life, regardless of whichever profession one comes from. Priyanka Chopra Will be celebrating her birthday on July 18. So Priyanka,Wishing you happy birthday in advanced. Checkout Priyanka Chopra Pictures. More images after the break...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)