Tuesday 9-18-07

"How's That Again?" is by Trip Payne and if you like those wacky wordy type puzzles, you know like h-o-p-e-s for "dashed hopes" or bopper for "teeny bopper" and hoRN for "Little Big Horn" you'll like this one. If you have a choice between doing it in the New York Sun paper version or in Across Lite, go for the paper today. There's one clue that doesn't translate electronically and even though it's explained by a note from the editor, it would be more fun in the old-fashioned paper version.

And away we go:

6D: OTTAWA (UPPER CASE CAPITAL) 13D: G r o g g y (SPACED OUT DAZED) 15D: Intrepid (BOLD COURAGEOUS) This is the one that doesn't work in Across Lite, which eveidently can't do bold type. And I just realized it doesn't work in Green Genius either, where I put all the clues in bold type.

Other entries of interest:

27A: Liberal foil of Archie (MAUDE) That's Archie Bunker, of course. Maude was Edith Bunker's cousin and after a couple of guest shots on "All in the Family" spun off into her own series. For the first couple of years she had a housekeeper named Florida Evans, a character that proved so popular that she too got her own series "Good Times", which was a spin-off of a spin-off. It may not be the only time that's happened but it's the only one I can think of. I liked "Maude" all right, but I much preferred Bea Arthur's other long-running series "The Golden Girls". I'm still hoping to complete my Golden Girls autograph collection. I have everybody except Estelle Getty who played Sophia, Bea Arthur's character Dorothy's mother (even though Getty is a year younger than Arthur) who unfortunately is now to ill to sign autographs. If you have one laying around let me know.

54D: Category in the game Careers (FAME) Haven't played this one in a long time. You had to reach a certain measure of life-goals in money, fame and happiness points. I always aimed for a lot of happiness, just enough money to keep afloat, and zippo fame. If my life were a game of Careers I'd say I won.

5D: Contest at the bar? (LIMBO) how looow can you go?

34A: Illegal firing (ARSON) I love this clue, but it makes me wonder -- when does a crossword editor decide to use the question mark at the end of the clue? I do a lot of cryptic crosswords where all the clues involve wordplay and misdirection and none of them have question marks, so I'm okay without them, and actually I had less trouble with this clue than with Contest at the bar? where I thought pubs and public defenders.

61A: "Conjunction Junction" conjunction (NOR) Most of the "Schoolhouse Rock" songs were incredibly catchy. I've never been able to get them completely out of my mind. That's why I can tell you that NOR was not one of the Conjunction Junction railyard man's three favorite cars. He uses "nor" exactly once in the song, but he uses "and" like 25 times.

30D: Having no talent for and 39D: Unsuited -- two clues, meaning basically the same thing, both five letters, two different answer BAD AT and INAPT.

62A: Star-____ Sneetch (Seuss character) (BELLY) Another masterpiece from the good doctor, showing the evils of prejudice, the pointlessness of trying to be something you're not and the inevitability of somebody and convincing you that your self-esteem problems can all be solved by giving some huckster all your money. Not bad for a children's book, huh?