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HAVING ASPIRATIONS

New York Times, Sunday, November 15, 2015

Author:
Alan Arbesfeld
Editor:
Will Shortz
1970 hit with the lyric "I'm down on my knees, / I'm begging you please to come home"
TotalDebutLatest
1328/27/19817/14/2022
SunMonTueWedThuFriSatVariety
2510253728151
RebusScrabblePOWPre‑WS
51.6019
Alan Arbesfeld

This puzzle:

Rows: 21, Columns: 21 Words: 132, Blocks: 64 Missing: {JQVXZ} This is puzzle # 110 for Mr. Arbesfeld.
Jeff Chen notes:
Perfect title, HAVING ASPIRATIONS hinting at a W changing to a WH, as if aspirating (producing a sound by exhalation). I liked many of the themers, THE ROYAL WHEE really amusing. GET OUT ... read more
1
M
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A
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S
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C
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O
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T
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T
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I
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M
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I
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D
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I
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T
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Y
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O
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G
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R
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E
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A
T
T
A
C
H
E
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U
N
C
L
O
T
H
E
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P
E
O
N
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T
H
E
W
H
I
R
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L
E
D
S
E
R
I
E
S
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E
T
O
N
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T
O
N
S
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S
T
A
S
I
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S
A
S
E
S
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N
O
T
E
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E
M
O
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R
W
A
N
D
A
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N
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I
D
I
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S
U
L
A
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L
E
S
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S
E
E
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D
A
N
E
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S
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G
R
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A
F
T
E
D
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T
H
E
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R
O
Y
A
L
W
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H
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E
E
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C
O
O
T
S
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P
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A
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P
R
I
K
A
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L
E
O
N
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W
O
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F
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E
R
R
O
R
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N
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E
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C
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K
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L
O
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S
E
R
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M
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N
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E
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C
L
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A
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R
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L
Y
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T
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T
Y
P
E
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K
E
N
L
68
W
H
I
C
H
D
O
C
69
T
O
R
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A
W
L
S
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A
R
C
S
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I
N
E
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I
N
A
W
O
R
D
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I
M
H
I
T
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T
S
E
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M
E
R
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Y
L
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S
W
A
G
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N
I
E
C
E
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O
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C
A
T
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A
I
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L
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S
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E
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S
S
A
Y
E
D
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B
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Y
F
A
R
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W
H
A
C
K
90
S
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M
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U
S
E
U
M
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L
O
W
R
I
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S
E
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D
I
N
A
R
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A
L
I
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S
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T
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S
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I
T
H
E
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H
I
102
D
103
S
U
N
B
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E
L
T
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E
R
A
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N
E
A
L
107
O
G
E
108
E
109
S
110
G
U
A
R
E
111
I
R
A
N
112
K
A
L
E
113
W
H
I
N
I
114
N
G
A
N
D
D
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I
N
I
N
G
116
A
M
E
S
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M
I
S
S
P
E
L
L
118
O
U
T
R
A
C
E
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T
O
S
S
120
E
N
M
E
S
H
E
S
121
S
P
O
I
L
E
R
© 2015, The New York Times11/15/15 ( No. 24,113 )
Across
1
Animals at a football game : MASCOTS
8
Antithesis of brashness : TIMIDITY
16
One carrying a spiked club, maybe : OGRE
20
Case for a lawyer : ATTACHE
21
Lay bare : UNCLOTHE
22
Worker hardly making a living wage : PEON
23
"So You Think You Can Dance," say? : THEWHIRLEDSERIES
25
School for James Bond : ETON
26
Plenty : TONS
27
East German secret police : STASI
28
Some letter enclosures, for short : SASES
29
A or B, but not O : NOTE
30
Punk offshoot : EMO
31
Kigali native : RWANDAN
33
A mean Amin : IDI
34
Toni Morrison novel : SULA
35
One with monthly payments : LESSEE
37
Shakespeare's Claudius and others : DANES
39
Added on, botanically : GRAFTED
41
Roller coaster shout from Queen Elizabeth? : THEROYALWHEE
45
Geezers : COOTS
46
Sprinkling on a deviled egg : PAPRIKA
49
Nuevo ___, state in Mexico : LEON
50
Klingon on "Star Trek: T.N.G." : WORF
51
It may lead to an unearned run : ERROR
52
Make out : NECK
56
Sad sack : LOSER
58
AOL competitor : MSN
61
Actor Hirsch of "Into the Wild" : EMILE
62
Without doubt : CLEARLY
65
Antique photo : TINTYPE
67
___ Ration (old dog food brand) : KENL
68
"Did you mean Doom or Dolittle?"? : WHICHDOCTOR
70
Tools for cobblers : AWLS
71
Inverse trig function : ARCSINE
73
Succinctly : INAWORD
74
Battlefield cry : IMHIT
75
Literary inits. : TSE
76
Actress Streep : MERYL
78
Coolness, in modern slang : SWAG
79
Lisa, to Patty and Selma, on "The Simpsons" : NIECE
80
One-___ (old ball game) : OCAT
82
Is sick : AILS
85
Made an effort : ESSAYED
87
Easily : BYFAR
89
Mob Boss Hall of Fame? : WHACKSMUSEUM
93
Like some jeans and apartment buildings : LOWRISE
95
Onetime place for Saddam Hussein's image : DINAR
96
Elite groups : ALISTS
100
Spillane's "___ Jury" : ITHE
101
Camouflaged : HID
103
Snowbird's destination : SUNBELT
105
Wisk competitor : ERA
106
Sci-fi/historical fiction writer Stephenson : NEAL
107
Decorative moldings : OGEES
110
John ___, "The House of Blue Leaves" playwright : GUARE
111
"Argo" setting : IRAN
112
Some salad greens : KALE
113
Making a complaint at a restaurant? : WHININGANDDINING
116
Iowa State locale : AMES
117
Trigger autocorrect, say : MISSPELL
118
Beat to the finish : OUTRACE
119
Eighty-six : TOSS
120
Traps in a net : ENMESHES
121
You may want to stop reading when you see this : SPOILER
Down
1
Hot Wheels maker : MATTEL
2
In : ATHOME
3
"Mad Men" extras : STENOS
4
Crows' cries : CAWS
5
"Gee," in Glasgow : OCH
6
"Meet the Press" competitor : THISWEEK
7
Company that encourages people to lie? : SERTA
8
Mardi Gras time : TUESDAY
9
Locale of the Battle of Tippecanoe : INDIANA
10
Runs the show, briefly : MCS
11
Dots in la mer : ILES
12
___ Maar (Picasso's muse) : DORA
13
Formal identification : ITISI
14
Bono bandmate : THEEDGE
15
Answer with a salute : YESSIR
16
Precedes at a concert : OPENSFOR
17
"That milky liquid belongs to me!"? : GETOUTOFMYWHEY
18
Cousin of a tendril : ROOTLET
19
Baseball or Supreme Court lineups : ENNEADS
24
Calrissian of "Star Wars" films : LANDO
31
Put back on the payroll : REHIRE
32
Dudley Do-Right's love : NELL
36
Moseys along : STROLLS
38
E.U. member not in NATO: Abbr. : SWE
40
Part of a winter stash : ACORN
42
One with brand loyalty? : RANCHER
43
"Oh ... my ... God!" : HOLYCOW
44
Brian who wrote the score for "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" : ENO
46
Glimpse on the sly : PEEKAT
47
Munitions suppliers : ARMERS
48
One in line to rule the ocean? : PRINCEOFWHALES
50
Peter who directed "Picnic at Hanging Rock" : WEIR
53
Man's name that's Hebrew for "my God" : ELI
54
1970 hit with the lyric "I'm down on my knees, / I'm begging you please to come home" : CECILIA
55
Roger who wrote "The Boys of Summer" : KAHN
57
Stick-in-the-mud types : STODGES
59
Edit some film : SPLICE
60
Like measuring cups, often : NESTED
63
Nutritional fig. : RDA
64
Cattle calls : LOWS
66
___ Trail (Everglades highway) : TAMIAMI
68
PBS station in the Big Apple : WNET
69
Chorus line leader? : TRA
72
Japanese porcelain : IMARI
74
Dis but not dat? : INSULT
77
"Fargo" assent : YAH
81
Negligent : CARELESS
83
Screen abbr. : LCD
84
Things found between the poles? : SKIS
86
Closed tight : SEALEDUP
87
Show some dumbfoundedness about : BLINKAT
88
Declaration on Día de San Valentín : YOTEAMO
89
Add one's two cents : WEIGHIN
90
Get cozy : SNUGGLE
91
Books often not read : MANUALS
92
Built-up : URBAN
94
"Prove it!" : SHOWME
97
Kind of number : SERIAL
98
Cataleptic state : TRANCE
99
Margaret who founded Planned Parenthood : SANGER
102
Jefferson's religious belief : DEISM
104
Mathematician who was the subject of the book "The Man Who Loved Only Numbers" : ERDOS
108
Start of the Bay State's motto : ENSE
109
Nurses at a bar : SIPS
111
Calvary inscription : INRI
114
Book before Esth. : NEH
115
Skater Midori : ITO

Answer summary: 8 unique to this puzzle, 2 unique to Shortz Era but used previously.

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