Taken to Task

 

Sisyphys (1548-1549) by Titian, Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain

 

In Greek mythology Sisyphus was a king of Ephyra (now known as Corinth) punished for chronic deceitfulness by being compelled to roll an immense boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down, and to repeat this action forever. ~ Wikipedia

 

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Sunday, October 13, 2013

 

“Taken to Task” Puzzle by Jeff Chen / Edited by Will Shortz

 

Imagery plays an important role in this uniquely imaginative Sunday crossword with a rock-like black-dot-square atop SISYPHUS in circled letters, reinforced by six entries:

 

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE (22A. Movie franchise since 1996)

BOULDER COLORADO (30A. Setting for “Mork & Mindy”)

PERPETUAL MOTION (98A. Violation of the first and second laws of thermodynamics)

IT’S AN UPHILL BATTLE (108A. Underdog’s saying)

INFINITE LOOP (15D. Computer programming problem)

ROLLING STONE (60D. First publisher of Hunter S. Thompson’s “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”)

Robert Fludd's 1618 "water screw" perpetual motion machine from a 1660 wood engraving.



Other — ALGER HISS (76D. Red Scare target), ASPCA (7A. Org. for lab safety?), CAR KEYS (50A. Sonata starters), CLEOPATRA (14D. Shakespeare heroine), DENEB (40A. One of three stars in the Summer triangle), DIGRESSED (92A. Went off?), DODO BIRD (28A. Metaphor for obsolescence), HEARTLESS (39D. Cold-blooded), INSOLVENCY (4D. Feared red state), LASSIE (121A. Animal with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame), LOTHARIOS (38A. Whistle-blowers?), tried to make sense of that clue, but to no avail, Rapper Nicki MINAJ, MEAT PIE (73A. Pub offering), ROSINS (1A. Treats, as a bow), TÊT-À-TÊTES (74D. Little confabs), WINE GLASS (47D. Red or white vessel).

 

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The sun climbs

from cool streams

of eastern seas

to oust the night.

What long drudgery

for a light-bringer —-

unpacking this foolish

planet from darkness!



Sun! while your bright

beams are conquering

half of the world

in heaven's service,

loosing legions

of light everywhere —-

in the east the night

always pursues you.



Sturdy Sisyphus

strains at his rock,

the Danaids' jar

drips forever,

and earth whirls herself

endlessly

out of light

and into darkness.



~ Drudgery, Jonas Hallgrimsson

 

  

 

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10.12.13 — L.H.O.O.Q.

L.H.O.O.Q. (1919). Marcel Duchamp.

The name of the piece, L.H.O.O.Q. (in French èl ache o o qu), is a pun, since the letters when pronounced in French form the sentence "Elle a chaud au cul", which can be roughly translated as "Her ass is hot", or more accurately "She is really horny". ~ Wikipedia

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Saturday, October 12, 2013

Puzzle by John Farmer / Edited by Will Shortz

Across — 1. Angry missive, NASTYGRAM; 10. Body parts often targeted by masseurs, NAPES; 15. Trailing, IN THE REAR; 16. ORRIN Hatch in the upper house; 17. Chutes behind boats, PARASAILS; 18. Treaty of Sycamore Shoals negotiator, 1775, BOONE; 19. Taking forever, SLOW; 20. Antimissile plan, for short, SDI; 21. Part of Duchamp’s parody of th “Mona Lisa”, GOATEE; 22. Octane booster brand, STP; 24. San YSIDRO Calif. (border town opposite Tijuana); 26. Discount ticket letters, SRO; 29. In the main, USUALLY; 31. Stuffed bear voiced by Seth MacFarlane, TED; 34. Not likely to be a “cheese” lover?, CAMERA SHY; 36. Pens for tablets, STYLI; 38. Learn to live with, ADAPT TO; 39. Like the sound holes of a cello, F SHAPED; 41. 1966 Indy 500 champion, RAHAL; 42. Champion, PROPONENT; 44. Venetian mapmaker FRA Mauro; 45. Driver’s license requirement, EYE EXAM; 47. Portugal’s Palácio SÃO Bento; 48. What a movie villain often comes to, BAD END; 59. Faced, MET; 52. Enter as a mediator, STEP IN; 54. Tribe whose sun symbol is on the New Mexico flag, ZIA; 56. Grandson of Abraham, ESAU; 60. Roadster from Japan, MIATA; 61. Sites for shark sightings, POOL HALLS; 63. Gut trouble, ULCER; 64. Group in a star’s orbit, ENTOURAGE; 65. Disney Hal architect, GEHRY; 66. Sci-fi battle site, DEATH STAR.

Sia [Zia] buffalo dancer, circa 1925, Edward S. Curtis photo

Down — 1. Beats at the buzzer, say, NIPS; 2. Like a control freak, ANAL; 3. Houston ballplayer, in sports shorthand, STRO; 4. Spring events, THAWS; 5. Word spoken 90 times in Molly, YES; 6. Desperately tries to get, GRASPS AT; 7. “Criminal Minds” agent with an I.Q. of 187, REID; 8. Singer of the #1 single “Try Again,” 2000, ALIYAH; 9. Half a couple, MRS; 10. Vacancy clause?, NOBODY HOME; 11. Like the crowd at a campaign rally, AROAR; 12. Some mock-ups, PROTOTYPES; 13. One in a Kindergarten?, EINE; 14. Three-time All-Pro guard Chris SNEE; 21. Owen Wilson’s “Midnight in Paris” role, GIL; 23. Glenda Jackson/Ben Kingsley film scripted by Harold Pinter, TURTLE DIARY; 25. Cunning one, SLY FOX; 26. Wolf (down), SCARF; 27. RADAR gun; 28. Battle site of June 6, 1944, OMAHA BEACH; 30. Grand Slam event, U S OPEN; 32. John Paul’s successor, ELENA; 33. Inflicted on, DID TO; 35. Green org., EPA; 37. Shade that fades, TAN; 40. Musical with a cow that’s catapulted over a castle, SPAMALOT; 43. Area inside the 20, in football, RED ZONE; 46. Appetite, YEN; 49. More likely, APTER; 51. Sadness symbolized, TEARS; 52. Complacent, SMUG; 53. Plaza square, maybe, TILE; 55. Least bit, IOTA; 57. Blind strip, SLAT; 58. Morsel for a guppy, ALGA; 59. One with a password, say, USER; 61. Street crosser, briefly, PED; 62. “You wanna run that by me again?”, HUH.

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10.11.13 — The Friday Crossword

Portrait of John Keats by William Hilton

National Portrait Gallery, London

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Friday, October 11, 2013

Puzzle by Peter A. Collins / Edited by Will Shortz

Six 15-letter answers constitute the main feature of this Friday crossword:



MEAT THERMOMETER (17A. Turkey sticker)

PLAY ME OR TRADE ME (27A. Benchwarmer’s plea)

DON’T EVEN GO THERE (46A. “That subject’s off the table!”)

WHERE’S THE REMOTE (59A. Universal query?)

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT (3D. “And now?”)

SETTLES THE SCORE (11D. Gets payback)

Other — “Everybody is A STAR”; ARMY STRONG (8D. Like G.I.‘s, per recruiting ads); Forest newcomer, FAWN; 53A. “Philosophy will clip an angel’s wings” writer, KEATS; OXYGENATED (29D. Like some hemoglobin); TIME GAP (9D. Interval).

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Do not all charms fly

At the mere touch of cold philosophy?

There was an awful rainbow once in heaven:

We know her woof, her texture; she is given

In the dull catalogue of common things.

Philosophy will clip an Angel's wings,

Conquer all mysteries by rule and line,

Empty the haunted air, and gnomèd mine—

Unweave a rainbow, as it erewhile made

The tender-person'd Lamia melt into a shade.

~ Lamia, John Keats

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10.10.13 — Days of the Week

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Puzzle by Jeffrey Wechsler / Edited by Will Shortz

DESKTOP CALENDAR (3D. Common site for 36-Across), APPOINTMENT BOOK (10D. Common site for 36-Across) and SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT (36A. All the time?: Abbr.), resulting in seven corresponding down entries, constitutes the main feature of this run-of-the-mill Thursday crossword.

[SUN] YAT SEN (36D. Revered Chinese figure)

LE[MON] (29D. It may leave a sour taste in your mouth)

EASY VIR[TUE] (6D. Noel Coward play)

ARE [WE D]ONE (26D. “Anything else that you require?”)

[THU]CYDIDES (37D. Athenian general who wrote “History of the Peloponnesian War’)

[FRI]DA (38D. 2002 Salma Hayek film or its title role)

REMAIN [S AT] (15D. Doesn’t leave)

Other — ABORIGINE (2D. Native), DEAD BODY (40D. Nonspeaking role on ‘CSI”), DUST SWEEPER (17A. Custodial tool), SALIVATE (1D. Show eager anticipation), SIDE AISLE (34D. Peripheral basilica feature), SWEETENED (48A. Like many breakfast cereals), UNDREAMED OF (57A. Inconceivable), VARIATION (25A. Basic process of genetics).

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10.09.13 — Mind Control

Frame from the film Blade Runner, 1982

“You will be required to do wrong no matter where you go. It is the basic condition of life, to be required to violate your own identity. At some time, every creature which lives must do so. It is the ultimate shadow, the defeat of creation; this is the curse at work, the curse that feeds on all life. Everywhere in the universe.” 

― Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

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Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Puzzle by Jason Flinn / Edited by Will Shortz

Clued by their film titles, two titles of science fiction stories by author Philip K. DICK (42-Across), DO ANDROIDS DREAM / OF ELECTRIC SHEEP (17A. With 20-Across, story by 42-Across on which the movie “Blade Runner” is based) and WE CAN REMEMBER IT / FOR YOU WHOLESALE (54A. With 59-Across, story by 42-Across on which the movie “Total Recall” is based) constitute the main feature of this Wednesday crossword.

Frame from film of Total Recall, 1990

“So you want to have gone to Mars. Very good.” 

― Philip K. Dick, We Can Remember It for You Wholesale

Other — ARRAYS, COMMIE (23A. Cold war foe, slangily), DOTES ON, ORYX (62A. African antelope), PERHAPS, PEWEE (51D. Bird that’s as small as it sounds), SAMPLED, SUN LAMP, TOMLIN (47D. “One ringy-dingy” comic).

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10.08.13 — Repeats

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Puzzle by Tim Croce / Edited by Will Shortz

Words or phrases that are repeated for completion are cross-referenced in the clues in this Tuesday crossword:

CHOO (1A. With 1-Across, toy train)

PROMISES (21A. With 21-Across, “I’ll believe it when I see it!”)

BREAKER (23A. With 23-Across, Cber’s opening)

MONDAY (26A With 26-Across, #1 hit for the Mamas & the Papas)

LET IT SNOW (37A. With 37-Across and 37-Across,a holiday song)

HEAR YE (51A. With 51-Across,town crier’s cry)

SAME OLD (53A. With 53-Across, “Nothing’s changed”)

LOCATION (55A. With 55-Across and 55-Across, real-estate catchphrase)

MONY (70A. With 70-Across, #1 hit for Billy Idol)

CHA (1D. With 1-Down and 1-Down, lively Latin dance)

HAR (2D. With 2-down, “Ve-r-r-ry funny!”)

LATE (14D. With 14-Down, like some talk shows)

PETER (29D. With 29-Down, nursery rhyme starter)

AGAR (54D. With 54-Down, food gelling agent)

TIN (63D. With 63-Down, title boy in a 2011 Spielberg film)

HEY (64D. With 64-Down and 64-Down, Fat Albert’s catchphrase)

Other — COSMOS (9D. Universe), DRESDEN (10D. German city rebuilt after W.W. II), HELENA (60A. Montana’s capital), MYTHOS (47D. Collection of legends), OSTLERS (3D. Stable employees), RIO LOBO (43D. 1970 John Wayne western), THE OMEN (40D. 1976 horror film whose remake was released appropriately, on 6/6/06). WEE UNS (42A. Tots).

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10.07.13 — Blue Monday

Blue Monday Copyright Thinkstock

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Monday, October 7, 2013

Puzzle by Amy Johnson / Edited by Will Shortz

SINGING THE BLUES (63A. What the artists of 16-, 27- and 49-Across are doing in reference to the last words of their hits?), THERE GOES MY BABY (16A. 1959 hit by the Drifters), AFTER MIDNIGHT (27A. 1970 hit by Eric Clapton) and WHEEL IN THE SKY (49A. 1978 hit by Journey) constitute the interrelated group of this well… blue Monday crossword.

Other — ARE WE ALONE (2D. “Can anybody hear us?“), GETTYSBURG (29D. Locale for an 1863 address), DESSERT (24A. Pudding or pie), NOTEPAD (53A. Something to scribble on), RUB IT IN (9D. Gloat), SENEGAL (44D. Dakar’s land), ST PETER (46D. Pearly Gates sentinel), WOE IS ME (6D. “Alas!”).

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Well, I never felt more like runnin' away

But why should I go 'cause I couldn't stay

Without you, you got me singin' the blues 

~ Guy Mitchell, Singing the Blues

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10.06.13 — Reading the O.E.D. — the Acrostic

Photo: The "shoes" entry in the OED. 

Credit: thrig via Flickr, LA Times

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Sunday, October 6, 2013

ACROSTIC, Puzzle by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon

Edited by Will Shortz

This Sunday’s rich acrostic draws a quotation from Reading the O.E.D. by Ammon Shea.

An obsessive word lover's account of reading the entire Oxford English Dictionary, hailed as "the Super Size Me of lexicography."

"I'm reading the OED so you don't have to," says Ammon Shea on his slightly masochistic journey to scale the word lover's Mount Everest: the Oxford English Dictionary. In 26 chapters filled with sharp wit, sheer delight, and a documentarian's keen eye, Shea shares his year inside the OED, delivering a hair-pulling, eye-crossing account of reading every word. ~ amazon.com

The quotation:  I CHUCKLE, LAUGH OUT LOUD, SMILE …, CRINGE …, FEEL SADNESS … ALL OF THE HUMAN EMOTIONS AND EXPERIENCES ARE RIGHT THERE IN THIS DICTIONARY, JUST AS THEY WOULD BE IN ANY FINE WORK OF LITERATURE.  THEY JUST HAPPEN TO BE ALPHABETIZED.

The author’s name and the title of the work:  AMMON SHEA, READING THE O.E.D.

Illustration for "To Autumn" by William James Neatby,

 from A Day with Keats, 1899



Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness

Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun

Conspiring with him how to load and bless

With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;

To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,

And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core …



The defined words:



A. Lemming eater of frigid climes (2 wds.), ARCTIC FOX

B. Rolled oats and dried fruit, MUESLI

C. Botanist who studied peas, MENDEL

D. Beltway, in Britain, ORBITAL

E. Discussion site on the Internet, NEWSGROUP

F. Category in a bookstore’s nonfiction section (hyph.), SELF-HELP

G. Lethargy, torpor, dullness, HEBETUDE

H. Portion of this quote’s subject perused by the quote’s author, ENTIRETY

I. Touching, ADJACENT

J. Sure sinner in a certain World Series (2 wds.), ROYAL FLUSH

K. 1850s rival of Isaac Singer (2 wds.), ELIAS HOWE

L. Keats’s “close bosom-friend of the maturing sun”, AUTUMN

M. Stuff used to clean up oil spills, DISPERSANT

N. The power of creative imagination, INGENUITY

O. Absolute slob’s opposite (2wds.), NEAT FREAK

P. Deteriorate, fall in value, fail (2 wds.), GO SOUTH

Q. “It is in the THIRTIES that we want friends” (F. Scott Fitzgerald)

R. Squatters’ means of support, HAUNCHES

S. Level or grade, literally, “rung of  ladder”, ECHELON

T. Related to adders or asps, OPHIDIAN

U. Miss Bennet in “Pride and Prejudice”, ELIZABETH

V. Sample of off-color humor (2 wds.), DIRTY JOKE



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The full paragraph of the quotation:  I find myself subject to the entire range of emotions and reactions that a great book will call forth from its reader.  I chuckle, laugh out loud, smile wistfully, cringe, widen my eyes in surprise, and even feel sadness—all from the neatly ordered rows of words and their explanations.  All of the human emotions and experiences are right there in this dictionary, just as they would be in any fine work of literature.  They just happen to be alphabetized. ~ Google Books

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10.06.13 — Toe Tags

A toe tag is a piece of cardboard normally attached with string to the big toe of a dead person in a morgue. It is used for identification purposes, allowing the mortician, coroner, law enforcement and others involved in the death process to correctly identify the corpse. ~ Wikipedia

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Sunday, October 6, 2013

“Toe Tags”, Puzzle by Patrick Berry / Edited by Will Shortz

Nine standard phrases have the sound of “toe” tacked on to produce unfamiliar and sometimes amusing new phrases in this curious Sunday crossword:

PERMANENT PRESTO (23A. Magic word that never loses its power?)

ROLLING PINTO (28A. 1970s Ford on the move?)

GLOOMY GUSTO (39A. Enthusiastic enjoyment o one’s unhappiness?)

CUP OF TITO (41A. The Josip Broz Memorial Trophy?)

BUY ONE GET ONE FRITO (58A. Stingy snack vendor’s special offer?)

NYPD BLUTO (75A. Big Apple cop who’s looking to bust Popeye?)

MASTER QUITO (77A. Learn all about the capital of Ecuador?)

GARBAGE CANTO (88A. Portion of Dante’s “Inferno” that was wisely excised?)

GUIDED MISTLETOE (96A. Christmas decoration that automatically steers toward lovers?)

Other — BLOATED and OBESE (75D and 85D. Overlarge); CANOODLE (73D. Make out); JUST DESERTS (37D. Fitting punishment); OVINE (20A. Like Lincolns); RUMBLE SEATS (36D Model A features).

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10.05.13 — The Saturday Crossword

Tango Argentino, Pedro Alvarez 

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Saturday, October 5, 2013

Puzzle by Byron Walden / Edited by Will Shortz

Across — 1. It may provide closure in a tragedy, ACT FIVE; 8. Discarded, OFFCAST; 15. City named for Theodore Roosevelt’s vice president, FAIRBANKS ALASKA; 17. Word search technique?, FREE ASSOCIATION; 18. Webby Award winner who accepted saying “Please don’t recount this vote”, AL GORE; 19. With 11-Down, animal called “stubbin” by locals, MANX; 20. Nascar stat that rises under caution flags, MPG; 21. Diddly, BEANS; 22. Opening in he computer business?, PORT; 23. Bad thing to lose, MOJO; 24. Flights, LAMS; 25. Taste makers?, BUDS; 26. Has it bad for, so to speak, LOVES; 27. -i relative, ESE; 28. Largest city in Moravia, BRNO; 29. Mob member, informally, ROO; 30. Morale, ESPRIT DE CORPS; 35. Second in command?, AIM; 36. Cloverleaf section, RAMP; 37. Flat top, LID; 39. Blended dressing?, SKORT; 42. Shutter shutter, HASP; 43. Literally, “I do not wish to”, NOLO; 44. Sauna exhalations, AAHS; 45. Solomonic, SAGE; 46. Chewed the fat, JAWED; 47. Watson’s creator, IBM; 48. Lowest of the low?, ZERO; 49. Prankery, DUPING; 50. 1965 Beach Boys hit, DO YOU WANNA DANCE; 53. Mission, HOMELESS SHELTER; 54. Jason Mraz song that spent a record 75 weeks on Billboard’s Hot 100, I’M YOURS; 55. Outcries, CLAMORS.

Down — 1. Outgoing, AFFABLE; 2. Lot arrangement, CAR LEASE; 3. Draws, TIE GAMES; 4. Some refrigerants, FREONS; 5. Reinforcement pieces, I BARS; 6. Mantel piece, VASE; 7. Nissan bumpers?, ENS; 8. Annual event since 1929, with “the” OSCARS; 9. Hard to pick up, FAINT; 10. Cigarette paper source, FLAX; 11. See 19-Across, CAT; 12. Author of 1980’s “The Annotated Gulliver’s Travels”, ASIMOV; 13. Macedonia’s capital, SKOPJE; 14. “El dia que me quieras” and others, TANGOS; 16. Large monitors, KOMODO DRAGONS; 22. Abandon one’s efforts, informally, PUNT; 23. “The Hound of the Baskervilles” backdrop, MOOR; 25. It’s around a cup, BRIM; 26. 1 Infinite LOOP (Address of Apple’s headquarters); 28. Dover soul, BRIT; 29. Force in red uniforms: Abbr., RCMP; 31. Course data, PARS; 32. Palliate, EASE; 33. Hit hard, as in an accident, PLOW INTO; 34. Tip used for icing, SILENCER; 38. They will be missed, DODGERS; 39. Lightly hailed?, SAID HI; 40. Major report, KABOOM; 41. “Yowza!”, OH MY MY; 42. Hound, HARASS; 43. Dresden decimator of 1945, NAPALM; 45. Something beyond the grate divide?, SEWER; 46. Herod’s realm, JUDEA; 48. 1879’s Anglo-ZULU War; 49. “Fantastic Mr. Fox” author, DAHL; 51. War on Poverty agcy., OEO; 52. Advisory grp. That includes the drug czar, NSC.

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