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New York Times, Monday, October 27, 2008

Author:
Andrea Carla Michaels and Michael Blake
Editor:
Will Shortz
Twirl ... or a cryptic hint to 20-, 36- and 51-Across?
TotalDebutLatestCollabs
806/12/20001/9/202349
SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
758102300
RebusCircleScrabblePOW
241.636
Andrea Carla Michaels
TotalDebutLatestCollabs
141/28/20086/13/201910
SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
0831200
Scrabble
1.64
Michael Blake

This puzzle:

Rows: 15, Columns: 15 Words: 76, Blocks: 38 Missing: {JQVZ} Spans: 3 This is puzzle # 13 for Ms. Michaels. This is puzzle # 3 for Mr. Blake.
Constructor notes:

Andrea:

Someone had done a puzzle where the reveal was a word that could be parsed into a direction, like THIN (add TH INto puzzle) So Michael and I came up with SP-IN. SPACEOFDIAMONDS was the original phrase. It later inspired my friend Peter Stein to want to create a SP-OUT puzzle (Wed 4/28/2010) but it's interesting to note that to add in letters was a Monday idea, but to take them out was a Wed. Words flow better when you add another letter. When you omit them (as in ELL CHECK) it takes a few seconds to figure out what is going on.

1
O
2
L
3
G
4
A
5
C
6
A
7
G
8
E
9
D
10
G
11
A
12
P
13
S
14
N
E
A
T
15
A
B
A
T
E
16
U
N
I
T
17
E
A
R
L
18
P
A
S
T
A
19
S
T
A
R
20
S
P
R
A
21
Y
O
F
S
U
N
22
S
H
I
N
E
23
N
U
T
T
Y
24
A
E
S
O
P
25
B
26
E
27
A
T
L
E
28
O
29
I
L
S
30
A
S
T
I
31
S
32
A
B
R
E
33
K
34
I
35
A
36
S
P
A
C
37
E
38
O
F
D
I
A
M
39
O
N
D
S
40
E
N
D
41
D
E
P
O
T
42
N
E
A
P
43
B
I
R
D
44
E
45
X
C
E
S
S
46
A
47
S
48
P
I
C
49
A
50
I
R
E
R
51
S
P
U
T
T
52
E
53
R
N
O
N
S
E
54
N
55
S
56
E
57
P
E
R
T
58
L
O
E
W
E
59
D
O
P
E
60
E
L
S
E
61
L
I
R
A
S
62
I
M
I
N
63
N
L
E
R
64
S
L
A
N
T
65
T
O
N
Y
© 2008, The New York Times10/27/08 ( No. 21,538 )
Across
1
Korbut who was a sensation at the 1972 Olympics : OLGA
5
Like animals in a zoo : CAGED
10
Fissures : GAPS
14
Tidy : NEAT
15
Subside : ABATE
16
___ of measure : UNIT
17
Husband of a countess : EARL
18
Rigatoni or spaghetti : PASTA
19
Something to wish upon : STAR
20
Aerosol tanning? : SPRAYOFSUNSHINE
23
Daft : NUTTY
24
Fable writer : AESOP
25
John, Paul, George or Ringo : BEATLE
28
Traditional paintings : OILS
30
___ Spumante : ASTI
31
Buffalo hockey player : SABRE
33
Korean automaker : KIA
36
Tiffany showroom? : SPACEOFDIAMONDS
40
With "of" plus 49-Down, momentous time : END
41
Railroad station : DEPOT
42
___ tide : NEAP
43
Tweety ___ of Warner Bros. cartoons : BIRD
44
Overindulgence : EXCESS
46
Molded jelly : ASPIC
49
Broadcaster : AIRER
51
Babble incoherently? : SPUTTERNONSENSE
57
Sassy : PERT
58
Lerner's partner for "Camelot" : LOEWE
59
Inside info : DOPE
60
Otherwise : ELSE
61
Pesos : Mexico :: ___ : Turkey : LIRAS
62
Poker declaration : IMIN
63
Dodger or Met, for short : NLER
64
Bias : SLANT
65
Theater award : TONY
Down
1
Change for a five : ONES
2
Jump : LEAP
3
Teri of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" : GARR
4
Europe/America separator, with "the" : ATLANTIC
5
Truman who wrote "Breakfast at Tiffany's" : CAPOTE
6
Sternward : ABAFT
7
Bloated, as the stomach : GASSY
8
"___, Brute?" : ETTU
9
College official : DEAN
10
Spews, as lava : GUSHES
11
Those voting nay : ANTIS
12
Instrument for Rachmaninoff : PIANO
13
Throat ailment : STREP
21
Brynner who starred in "The King and I" : YUL
22
1690s Massachusetts witch hunt locale : SALEM
25
First, second, third or home : BASE
26
"Monday Night Football" channel : ESPN
27
Not much : ATAD
28
Death notice, for short : OBIT
29
Lyricist Gershwin : IRA
31
Real-life org. seen in "Bullitt" : SFPD
32
"Much ___ About Nothing" : ADO
33
Midleg joint : KNEE
34
Actress Lupino and others : IDAS
35
Egyptian snakes : ASPS
37
Proclamation : EDICT
38
"___ the land of the free ..." : OER
39
By deferred payment : ONCREDIT
43
Not sweet : BITTER
44
Author Hemingway : ERNEST
45
Illiterates' marks : XES
46
Colorado resort : ASPEN
47
Participate in a bee : SPELL
48
Derby prize : PURSE
49
See 40-Across : ANERA
50
Des Moines native : IOWAN
52
Building additions : ELLS
53
Stir up, as the waters : ROIL
54
Baseball's Hideo : NOMO
55
Twirl ... or a cryptic hint to 20-, 36- and 51-Across? : SPIN
56
Start of a counting-out rhyme : EENY

Answer summary: 3 unique to this puzzle.

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