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TRIPLE BONDS

New York Times, Sunday, April 3, 2011

Author:
Oliver Hill and Eliza Bagg
Editor:
Will Shortz
80-Across : Item for a mason
TotalDebutLatestCollabs
1610/2/20074/3/20112
SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
3532300
CircleScrabbleFresh
11.6235%
Oliver Hill
TotalDebutLatestCollabs
212/23/20104/3/20112
SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
1000100
ScrabbleFresh
1.6351%
Eliza Bagg

This puzzle:

Rows: 21, Columns: 21 Words: 140, Blocks: 82 Missing: {QX} Scrabble average: 1.70 This is puzzle # 16 for Mr. Hill. This is puzzle # 2 for Ms. Bagg. Sunday freshness: 42%
Jim Horne notes:

Puzzle solutions are intended to be unique (except in a few odd cases where they are intentionally ambiguous.) Unlike, say, sudoku, it's hard to prove that crossword solutions are singular.

The puzzle here seems to be a case of an unintentionally non-unique grid. Dictionaries support two correct answers for 90A and 77D, as shown below.

1
O
2
T
3
O
4
O
5
L
6
E
7
A
8
N
9
T
10
H
11
E
12
M
13
I
14
C
15
E
16
S
17
E
18
W
19
R
E
P
L
A
N
20
L
A
M
E
S
A
21
B
O
N
22
J
O
V
I
23
G
R
E
E
N
T
24
E
A
P
A
R
T
Y
25
E
N
D
E
M
I
C
26
A
N
A
G
R
A
M
27
C
R
A
B
28
C
A
K
E
W
A
L
K
29
L
E
T
O
30
N
31
T
E
A
M
32
U
33
T
34
I
35
C
A
36
R
37
I
38
P
E
S
T
39
F
40
A
41
S
42
T
43
L
O
W
C
U
44
T
45
C
46
L
A
S
S
47
H
48
A
I
R
T
I
49
E
50
S
51
N
A
I
L
F
I
L
E
52
A
I
53
R
54
C
A
N
A
D
A
D
R
Y
55
A
S
S
56
S
I
R
57
E
N
58
Y
O
Y
O
S
59
P
A
A
R
60
E
T
H
61
A
62
N
63
N
O
N
64
P
A
N
65
C
66
A
L
L
S
67
D
I
68
R
T
Y
B
69
L
O
N
D
70
E
71
J
O
K
E
72
L
73
A
D
L
E
74
L
A
P
75
O
R
A
76
A
R
77
Y
78
A
79
N
80
T
I
L
E
81
P
82
R
83
I
O
R
84
C
R
A
Z
85
Y
86
A
W
E
87
H
E
A
D
88
C
O
L
D
C
A
89
S
E
90
S
Z
E
91
C
92
H
W
A
N
93
O
F
C
O
U
R
S
E
94
H
O
95
N
E
Y
P
O
T
P
I
E
96
K
N
I
T
97
S
98
A
99
G
E
S
T
100
P
S
S
T
S
101
C
O
L
A
102
H
103
O
104
A
105
G
Y
106
C
107
A
108
T
109
F
110
O
111
O
D
F
I
G
112
H
113
T
114
A
N
O
R
115
A
116
K
117
S
118
A
V
I
A
T
O
R
119
B
L
U
E
120
S
T
A
T
E
B
I
R
121
D
122
M
E
S
T
I
Z
O
123
I
A
G
R
E
E
124
T
A
I
P
A
N
125
S
C
H
126
S
E
M
127
S
W
O
R
D
S
128
O
D
E
S
S
A
© 2011, The New York Times4/3/11 ( No. 22,426 )
Across
1
Henry II player in "Becket" : OTOOLE
7
Something that might get a rise out of people? : ANTHEM
13
Clinch : ICE
16
Clinch, with "up" : SEW
19
Arrange again : REPLAN
20
Suburb of San Diego : LAMESA
21
"Livin' on a Prayer" band : BONJOVI
23
Chinese restaurant offering / Wonderland affair / Group on the left? : GREENTEAPARTY
25
Indigenous : ENDEMIC
26
Neo, for one : ANAGRAM
27
Baltimore specialty / Effortless task / Move on all fours with the belly up : CRABCAKEWALK
29
Admit : LETON
31
Skins, e.g. : TEAM
32
Ancient city NW of Carthage : UTICA
36
Most red, maybe : RIPEST
39
Firmly fixed : FAST
43
Plunging / Play hooky / Vulgar : LOWCUTCLASS
47
Scrunchies : HAIRTIES
51
Tip reducer? : NAILFILE
52
Northern flier / Mixer maker / Put on the line : AIRCANADADRY
55
Buffoon : ASS
56
Lure : SIREN
58
Idiots : YOYOS
59
"Up to ___," 1952 game show : PAAR
60
___ Hunt, Tom Cruise's character in "Mission: Impossible" : ETHAN
63
Sénat vote : NON
64
God of shepherds : PAN
65
Dials : CALLS
67
Yellowish brown / Bit of "dumb" humor / Many a forwarded e-mail : DIRTYBLONDEJOKE
72
Hot cider server : LADLE
74
Seat for toddlers : LAP
75
Time, in Torino : ORA
76
Indo-___ : ARYAN
80
Item for a mason : TILE
81
Previous : PRIOR
84
Idiotic : CRAZY
86
Wonderment : AWE
87
Cause of congestion / Detective's challenge / Loony : HEADCOLDCASE
90
Style of chicken : SZECHWAN
93
"Naturally!" : OFCOURSE
94
Winnie-the-Pooh possession / Baked entree / Sweetie : HONEYPOTPIE
96
Grow together : KNIT
97
Best to follow, as advice : SAGEST
100
Attention getters : PSSTS
101
It's no good when it's flat : COLA
102
Hero : HOAGY
106
Fancy Feast product / Cafeteria outburst / "Mean Girls" event : CATFOODFIGHT
114
Hooded jackets : ANORAKS
118
___ sunglasses : AVIATOR
119
Democratic territory / Cardinal, e.g. / "Over the Rainbow" flier : BLUESTATEBIRD
122
Biracial Latin American : MESTIZO
123
"Ditto!" : IAGREE
124
1966 best seller set in Hong Kong : TAIPAN
125
See 126-Across : SCH
126
Half a 125-Across year: Abbr. : SEM
127
They might be crossed : SWORDS
128
"The Battleship Potemkin" setting : ODESSA
Down
1
Alternative to gov : ORG
2
Trillion: Prefix : TERA
3
Word with French or U.S. : OPEN
4
Olive genus : OLEA
5
Cross-country skiing : LANGLAUF
6
___ deux âges (middle-aged: Fr.) : ENTRE
7
John Wayne western, with "The" : ALAMO
8
Toddler's need : NAP
9
Nickname for a seven-time N.B.A. All-Star : TMAC
10
Frau's partner : HERR
11
Billionaire's home, maybe : ESTATE
12
Halfhearted R.S.V.P.'s : MAYBES
13
Letter-shaped support : IBEAM
14
Bean : CONK
15
German finale : ENDE
16
"Brave New World" drug : SOMA
17
___ eye : EVIL
18
Lit part : WICK
22
Ashkenazi, for one : JEW
24
Take in : EAT
28
Polo locale : CATHAY
30
New Deal inits. : NRA
32
They turn on hinges : ULNAE
33
A goner : TOAST
34
"If only!" : IWISH
35
Third-century year : CCL
37
"This ___ outrage!" : ISAN
38
Reciprocal Fibonacci constant : PSI
39
Bomb : FIASCO
40
Suffix with drunk : ARD
41
Desk item : STAPLER
42
Kind of wave : TIDAL
44
"___ the season ..." : TIS
45
Black in a cowboy hat : CLINT
46
"Sleigh Ride" composer Anderson : LEROY
48
Enero starts it : ANO
49
Times to remember : ERAS
50
Med. land : SYR
53
Cornelius who wrote "A Bridge Too Far" : RYAN
54
Creature worshiped by the Incas : CONDOR
57
As one : ENBLOC
61
Appended : ADDEDON
62
Zip : NIL
64
101-Across, e.g. : POP
66
Alias initials : AKA
68
Bit of homework : REPORT
69
Actress ___ Flynn Boyle : LARA
70
Rub out : ERASE
71
Stimulating : JAZZY
72
Gladly : LIEF
73
Old cry of dismay : ALACK
77
Barks : YAWPS
78
Anticipate : AWAIT
79
Yucatán youth : NENES
80
Howe'er : THO
82
"Treasure Island" inits. : RLS
83
Words before any month's name : IDESOF
84
Fortune profilees, for short : CEOS
85
"Uh-huh" : YEP
88
___ bono (for whose benefit?: Lat.) : CUI
89
"___ Bangs" (Ricky Martin hit) : SHE
91
Check, as text : COPYREAD
92
Bklyn. ___ : HTS
95
Kind of power, in math : NTH
98
Outs : ALIBIS
99
Speech blocker : GAGLAW
101
One going into a drive : CDROM
103
Hall's partner : OATES
104
Santa ___ : ANA
105
Bugged : GOTTO
106
They take vids : CAMS
107
___ plaisir : AVEC
108
"Oh, pooh!" : TISH
109
Butcher's trimmings : FAT
110
Soulful Redding : OTIS
111
Slime : OOZE
112
Venezuela's Chávez : HUGO
113
Colonial land: Abbr. : TERR
115
Rose's beau : ABIE
116
___ Bay (Manhattan area) : KIPS
117
Sp. titles : SRAS
120
But: Lat. : SED
121
Some evidence : DNA

Answer summary:
12 unique to this puzzle, 1 debuted here and reused later, 1 unique to Modern Era but used previously.

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