Theme: "All for one, and one for all!"
Follow the bold red letters to see the stars in the different rows of this puzzle:
1. The "u" sound in "circus" : SCHWA 6. Even if, for short : THO 9. Ladle cousin : SPOON ("Athos")
20. Rotterdam, for one : SEAPORT 22. Party person : HOSTESS ("Porthos")
54. Boxer from California : BARBARA (U.S. Senator) 58. Letter : MISSIVE ("Aramis")
69. Control tower tracker : RADAR 70. Game for it? : TAG (I thought this was a great clue - You are "It" in the game of tag!) 71. Some iPods : NANOS ("D'Artagnan")
And the unifier:
40. With "The", classic novel, each of whose major characters is hiding in a row of this puzzle : THREE MUSKETEERS
"The Three Musketeers", by Alexander Dumas, portrays the life of a young man named D'Artagnan who travels to Paris to join the other three adventurers of the title.
I thought this was a brilliantly executed puzzle. Did you find the hidden characters before coming here?
Marti here, with your Thursday entertainment from Victor Barocas. We just saw his work in late December, with his "Bill of Rights" puzzle. But I thought this was a step up in the difficulty level. So let's see what he has to offer:
Across:
14. "Yond Cassius has ___ and hungry look" : A LEAN. From Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar"
15. Water in Côte d'Ivoire : EAU. Abejo, you nailed it, right?
16. Dispute : ARGUE
17. Spicy Indian dish : CURRY. Also Thai, right?
18. One side of the GW bridge : NYC . George Washington Bridge is not always easy to get to New York City...
19. Preserves, in a way : SALTS
24. Schnozzola : SNOOT. Funny clue/answer for "nose"
26. Tell it like it isn't : LIE. Clever.
27. TV's Dr. House, e.g. : LIMPER. Oooh, I thought this was an un-PC clue!
30. Enjoy a kiddie pool : WADE
32. Many a GI : PVT. Private.
35. Plains native : OTOE
36. "...from my snow-white pen the ___-colored ink": Shak. : EBON Nice to see a quote for this answer.
38. Bender : SPREE. I went on a shopping bender the other day, and bought five pairs of shoes.
43. Thrift, briefly : S AND L. Short for "Savings and Loan". With this economy, it seems like I have been more "loan" than "savings". Maybe I should cut out buying so many shoes...
44. Crack : STAB. I took a stab at this answer.
45. Snug retreat : NEST.
46. Super Bowl highlights, for many : ADS . One of my favorites (0:30)...
47. Luncheon follower? : ETTE. Luncheonette...
49. Takes a position : OPINES. I often opine on this blog, but please don't take me seriously!
51. Eggs, biologically : OVA
52. Biden's 2008 counterpart : PALIN. I just finished reading Tina Fey's book "Bossypants". She did a great Palin on SNL (2:18).
62. ___ a time : ONE AT
63. One in an unhappy chorus : BOO
65. Shroud city : TURIN
66. Wind: Pref. : ANEMO. ...meter
67. Coffee holder : URN. Mine would be a "mug".
68. '30s Chan portrayer : OLAND. Do you remember him in "The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu"? Then you are a classic B&W oldies movie buff like me!!
And now, let's all settle...
Down:
1. Pouches : SACS . My favorite Saks purchases are Jimmy Choo and Prada... (C.C. would be proud of me!)
2. This is one : CLUE. HaHa. Funny clue!
3. A sister of Demeter : HERA. OK, I will 'fess up...this is the one I actually had to gg... (Oh the horror!)
4. "Star Trek" measure : WARP SPEED. And, why did I know this one without gg????
5. Whomever : ANYONE
6. Nearing the hour : TEN TO. Or long odds...ten to one.
7. Farm gathering : HAY. Hey! I bet Windhover got this one!
8. Pained interjection : OUCH.
9. As fresh as they come : SASSIEST.
10. Chatter : PRATE. From German "pratten", to pout.
11. Seriously check out : OGLE. Seriously, do you ogle the check-out lady at Wal-Mart?
12. Inning enders : OUTS. Hah! Nailed this one! (I'm dancin', I'm dancin', I'm doin' the victory dancin' !!!)
13. Largest Scottish Loch by volume : NESS. Largest monster, too!
21. Composer of the 2005 opera "Our Town" : ROREM. Ned Rorem. Adapted from the Thornton Wilder play "Our Town", which was first performed by the Indiana University Opera in 2006.
23. Word with man or maid : OLD. Did you play Old Maid when you were kids? My old man did!!
25. Texas dance : TWO-STEP. Here is a perfect version (2:03) of this classic Texas dance.
27. Many, informally : LOTSA.
28. "___ to Be You" : IT HAD. First chance to link music. The original version by Priscilla Lane wasn't a winner, IMHO. But Billie Holiday (4:04) nailed it!
29. E'ens' counterparts : MORNS
31. "Puppy Love" singer : ANKA. Another chance to link music. Wow! I feel inspired (2:45)...
32. Get ready for the prom, say : PREEN. I think of parrots and cockatoos when I think of "preening". But I guess this also qualifies (3:50)...
33. Frost product : VERSE . Cold cheek? Nipped nose? Nope!
34. Medical battery : TESTS. As in, a battery of tests.
37. Exceed 21, in a way : BUST. OK, I guess these exceed 21"
39. The Crimea, e.g. : PENINSULA. Geography lesson of the day.
41. Car in a shaft : ELEVATOR
42. Where Christ stopped, in a Carlo Levi title : EBOLI . Memoir published in 1945. His anti-fascist beliefs led to his banishment by Benito Mussolini, to this remote southern Italian town.
48. La Brea goo : TAR
50. One of six in a V-6 engine : PISTON
51. "Dreams From My Father" memoirist : OBAMA
53. Surrounded by : AMONG
54. Tusked mammal : BOAR
55. Alexi Karenin's wife : ANNA . You do remember Anna Karenina? She was most likely inspired by Maria Hartung, who is the oldest daughter of the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin (what a small world!!)
56. English horn, for one : REED. This instrument:
57. Lie alongside : ABUT
59. Caspian Sea country : IRAN
60. Rosso o bianco : VINO . Vin rouge ou blanc, for those non-Italians out there...
61. Closes : ENDS ...We're almost there!
64. Tuscan time period : ORA.
"Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his ORA upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing..."
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing..."
Hugs,
Marti
