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CHARACTER BUILDING

New York Times, Sunday, March 4, 2018

Author:
Byron Walden
Editor:
Will Shortz
"___ autumn, and a clear and placid day": Wordsworth
TotalDebutLatestCollabs
10611/23/20014/22/202315
SunMonTueWedThuFriSatVariety
1412393677
RebusCircleScrabblePOWFresh
321.59594%
Byron Walden

This puzzle:

Rows: 21, Columns: 21 Words: 132, Blocks: 69 Missing: {JX} This is puzzle # 87 for Mr. Walden. Sunday freshness: 88%
Byron Walden notes:
HAT TIP to the puzzle magazines of my long-gone youth. One of them (Dell?) had a little word puzzle where you had to go from STARTLING to I deleting one letter at a time, always forming a ... read more
Jeff Chen notes:
How to describe this theme? There's a letter-adding progression of IN, SIN, SING, STING, STRING, STARING, STARTING, STARTLING … with each word shifted down one phrase for kooky results? ... read more
1
S
2
T
3
H
4
E
5
L
6
E
7
N
8
A
9
A
10
C
11
T
12
S
13
O
14
N
15
S
16
P
17
A
18
M
19
S
20
T
E
A
T
I
M
E
S
21
L
O
V
A
T
O
22
A
R
T
O
O
23
I
N
T
H
O
U
G
H
24
T
A
S
M
U
C
H
25
G
O
D
N
O
26
F
U
T
O
N
S
27
B
O
N
M
O
T
28
L
A
B
A
T
T
29
F
R
I
S
T
30
S
I
N
S
O
M
E
31
S
32
M
A
L
L
W
A
Y
33
S
E
P
34
A
35
V
O
N
36
S
E
A
N
37
E
N
G
38
E
M
I
T
39
W
40
E
41
E
42
P
43
G
R
A
44
M
M
45
R
46
A
B
I
D
47
S
I
N
G
O
48
F
O
M
I
S
S
49
I
50
O
51
N
52
P
A
R
E
N
53
C
A
T
D
O
O
R
54
G
E
N
R
E
55
S
T
I
N
G
56
I
N
T
H
E
S
H
O
57
W
58
E
59
R
60
C
A
L
I
61
H
A
Z
E
62
F
E
Y
63
R
A
N
64
T
W
A
S
65
A
T
O
Z
66
S
T
R
67
I
68
N
69
G
70
O
71
P
E
R
A
72
T
I
O
N
S
73
W
A
N
E
74
S
75
C
O
Y
N
E
S
S
76
H
O
R
D
E
77
S
T
A
R
I
78
N
79
G
80
Q
U
A
R
T
E
T
81
K
E
N
D
O
82
S
T
O
L
I
83
H
O
O
K
84
H
I
P
S
85
A
86
M
C
87
L
E
N
88
A
89
P
E
D
I
90
C
91
O
92
G
93
S
T
A
R
94
T
I
N
G
D
95
A
96
G
97
G
98
E
R
S
99
A
100
S
A
N
A
101
A
E
R
O
B
E
102
D
R
E
A
M
Y
103
A
N
I
M
A
S
104
B
A
L
O
O
105
S
106
T
A
R
T
L
I
N
107
G
L
I
N
E
U
P
108
E
S
I
G
N
109
O
H
M
A
M
A
110
N
O
I
S
E
T
T
E
111
R
E
N
E
E
112
Y
E
S
Y
E
S
113
E
A
S
T
W
O
O
D
© 2018, The New York Times3/4/18 ( No. 24,953 )
Across
1
Where Napoleon died in exile : STHELENA
9
Pursues, as a hunch : ACTSON
15
Assails with emails : SPAMS
20
Pauses for service : TEATIMES
21
Demi with the 2012 hit "Give Your Heart a Break" : LOVATO
22
Droid with a holographic projector, informally : ARTOO
23
Equally pensive? : INTHOUGHTASMUCH
25
"Heaven forbid!" : GODNO
26
Foldable beds : FUTONS
27
Witticism : BONMOT
28
Canada's largest brewer : LABATT
29
Daschle's successor as Senate majority leader : FRIST
30
Commit a peccadillo? : SINSOMESMALLWAY
33
Mo. with Constitution Day : SEP
34
"___ calling" : AVON
36
Irish "John" : SEAN
37
Part of E.S.L.: Abbr. : ENG
38
Shoot off : EMIT
39
Break down, in a way : WEEP
43
1980s-2000s Texas senator Phil : GRAMM
45
Beyond passionate : RABID
47
Perform the hit "Things I Should Have Said"? : SINGOFOMISSION
52
Symbol over 9 or 0 on a keyboard, for short : PAREN
53
Pet portal : CATDOOR
54
Horror, e.g. : GENRE
55
The Police frontman filming a shampoo commercial? : STINGINTHESHOWER
60
Golden State, informally : CALI
61
The night before, to a hard partier? : HAZE
62
Whimsical : FEY
63
Bolted : RAN
64
"___ autumn, and a clear and placid day": Wordsworth : TWAS
65
All-inclusive : ATOZ
66
Tying packages, securing helium balloons, etc.? : STRINGOPERATIONS
73
Lessens in force : WANES
75
Flirtatious quality : COYNESS
76
Throng : HORDE
77
The Beatles showing absolute amazement? : STARINGQUARTET
81
Martial art with bamboo swords : KENDO
82
Ketel One rival, familiarly : STOLI
83
Selling point : HOOK
84
Handholds while slow-dancing : HIPS
85
"The Walking Dead" channel : AMC
87
Headey of "Game of Thrones" : LENA
89
Salon offering, familiarly : PEDI
90
Important but sometimes ignored piece : COG
93
First weapons used in a knife fight? : STARTINGDAGGERS
99
Yoga pose : ASANA
101
Oxygen-reliant organism : AEROBE
102
Oh-so-handsome : DREAMY
103
Jungian souls : ANIMAS
104
Disney bear : BALOO
105
Surprising group of suspects? : STARTLINGLINEUP
108
Endorse digitally : ESIGN
109
"Baby, baby, baby!" : OHMAMA
110
Lean fillet, as of lamb : NOISETTE
111
"Walk Away ___" (1966 hit) : RENEE
112
Enthusiastic consent : YESYES
113
"The 15:17 to Paris" director, 2018 : EASTWOOD
Down
1
Doesn't pay : STIFFS
2
___ track : TENURE
3
Metaphoric acknowledgment : HATTIP
4
Shared values : ETHOS
5
Performance for which one might grab a chair : LIONTAMING
6
Tridactyl birds : EMUS
7
Blood type modifier, for short : NEG
8
Waste receptacle : ASHBIN
9
Astronauts Bean and Shepard : ALANS
10
Mag featuring "Fun Fearless Females" : COSMO
11
Clair Huxtable or Peg Bundy : TVMOM
12
Browns : SAUTES
13
Nonprescription, briefly : OTC
14
Drama with many fans : NOH
15
Katey who played Peg Bundy : SAGAL
16
Parts of math textbooks : PROBLEMSECTIONS
17
When duelers may meet : ATDAWN
18
Beginning of the German workweek : MONTAG
19
Like chimneys : SOOTY
24
Truckload : TON
28
Island veranda : LANAI
30
Barfly : SOT
31
Kind of lily : SEGO
32
School closing? : MARM
35
Snapchat posting, for short : VID
38
One seeing ghosts : EBENEZERSCROOGE
39
Including : WITH
40
Michael who wrote "The Neverending Story" : ENDE
41
Things that clash in Washington : EGOS
42
Pouty exclamation : POOH
44
"No ___" : MSG
45
Rap sound : RATATAT
46
The 48th star : ARIZONA
47
Woodland god : SATYR
48
Do with a pick, maybe : FRO
49
Briefly : INAWORD
50
The Theme Park Capital of the World : ORLANDO
51
German border river : NEISSE
52
Quaint dismissals : PSHAWS
53
Tech news website : CNET
56
Hypotheticals : IFS
57
Take with force : WREST
58
Bears ___ (national monument in Utah) : EARS
59
Messenger ___ : RNA
67
Post-op stop : ICU
68
One releasing a dove in the Bible : NOAH
69
Food truck menu item : GYRO
70
Not tricked by : ONTO
71
Advance look, say : PEEK
72
Film for which Adrien Brody won Best Actor : THEPIANIST
74
"Park it" : SIT
78
"Honestly" : NOLIE
79
Verdant spot : GLEN
80
Last Chinese dynasty : QING
81
Not be serious : KID
84
"___ Just Not That Into You" (2009 rom-com) : HES
85
Relaxing : ATEASE
86
Catch in "The Old Man and the Sea" : MARLIN
88
Title family name in old TV : ADDAMS
89
Hawthorne heroine : PRYNNE
90
Snapped out of it : CAMETO
91
Out of control? : ONAUTO
92
Showed shock : GASPED
93
Cossack weapon : SABER
94
Crash into the side of, informally : TBONE
95
Marshal : ARRAY
96
"You follow?" : GETME
97
Fancy soirees : GALAS
98
Old record co. conglomerate : EMI
100
Strength : SINEW
103
Celebrated boxing family : ALIS
105
Edamame source : SOY
106
Alternative to café : THE
107
___ long way : GOA

Answer summary: 11 unique to this puzzle, 3 debuted here and reused later, 1 unique to Shortz Era but used previously.

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