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New York Times, Wednesday, May 4, 2005

Author:
Victor Fleming
Editor:
Will Shortz
40-Across : Budget director under Jimmy Carter
TotalDebutLatestCollabs
473/29/200512/29/202125
SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
75107666
CircleScrabDebutFresh
21.5522358%
Victor Fleming

This puzzle:

Rows: 15, Columns: 15 Words: 76, Blocks: 40 Missing: {FGWZ} Spans: 1 This is puzzle # 2 for Mr. Fleming. Wednesday freshness: 30%
Victor Fleming notes:

My first-ever NYT having seen print less than two months earlier, I was full of myself. The year before, the Feb. 4 puzzle by Roy Leban had honored Bob Keeshan, who had died on Jan. 23 — some 12 days earlier. I think that was a record turn-around time for a current-events puzzle. But, for sure, it inspired me to think that some themes merit email contact with Will.

Pope Benedict XVI was elected on Apr. 19, 2005. I emailed Will a proposed theme to capitalize on his election around midnight that night. Will's reply was in the affirmative, conditioned on my getting him an acceptable finished puzzle by late the next afternoon. As for how the theme was executed, in essence I made a list of words and phrases that might apply to the situation and used those that seemed most apt.

I made the decision that, because of the nature of the puzzle, all the theme answers should be horizontal, for ease of reading (by the masses). I debated whether to put blocks in the boxes that start A TAD and end BEET, giving the puzzle 78 words, rather than 76. I was even more tempted when it turned out that my best long non-theme answers were going to be EHUD BARAK and BERT LANCE. But I submitted it as is, holding the other option as a fallback, in case Will didn't like those two chaps crowding in on His Holiness. He took it as delivered, though, giving me a symmetrical story to tell: The turnaround time on my first NYT crossword was 14 months; on my second, 14 days.

1
P
2
A
3
P
4
A
5
T
6
R
7
E
8
E
9
M
10
A
11
I
12
L
13
E
P
I
C
14
S
15
R
O
S
Y
16
E
I
N
E
17
T
H
E
H
O
18
L
Y
S
E
E
19
D
O
S
E
20
T
I
R
E
L
E
S
S
21
O
I
L
E
R
22
Y
D
S
23
V
A
T
I
24
C
25
A
N
C
I
T
Y
26
B
E
D
27
R
U
E
28
A
29
C
30
N
E
31
E
32
H
U
D
B
33
A
34
R
35
A
36
K
37
P
O
P
E
38
B
39
E
N
E
D
I
C
T
X
V
I
40
B
E
R
T
L
A
N
C
E
41
A
S
A
P
42
O
R
U
43
M
44
U
D
45
H
46
I
47
S
48
H
O
L
I
49
N
50
E
S
S
51
C
52
O
53
Q
54
O
N
T
O
P
55
O
N
R
E
56
P
O
R
T
57
A
D
A
M
58
J
59
O
H
N
P
A
U
L
I
I
60
R
I
L
E
61
E
R
I
E
62
S
C
O
O
P
63
D
A
L
Y
64
B
E
T
A
65
E
R
N
S
© 2005, The New York Times5/4/5 ( No. 20,266 )
Across
1
Term of affection for 37-Across : PAPA
5
Arborist's concern : TREE
9
Daily delivery : MAIL
13
"Beowulf" and "Paradise Lost" : EPICS
15
Optimistic : ROSY
16
Deutsche article : EINE
17
Office of 37-Across : THEHOLYSEE
19
Recommended amount : DOSE
20
Indefatigable : TIRELESS
21
Persian Gulf ship : OILER
22
Football gains or losses: Abbr. : YDS
23
Home for 37-Across : VATICANCITY
26
Ocean's bottom : BED
27
Feel remorse for : RUE
28
Adolescent's outbreak : ACNE
31
Former Israeli P.M. : EHUDBARAK
37
Leader elected in 2005 : POPEBENEDICTXVI
40
Budget director under Jimmy Carter : BERTLANCE
41
"Quickly!" : ASAP
42
Sch. in Tulsa : ORU
43
Really bad coffee : MUD
45
Title for 37-Across : HISHOLINESS
51
___ au vin : COQ
54
Good way to go out : ONTOP
55
Subject to sanctions, maybe : ONREPORT
57
Party of the first part? : ADAM
58
Predecessor of 37-Across : JOHNPAULII
60
Stir up : RILE
61
View from Toledo : ERIE
62
Ice cream unit : SCOOP
63
Tyne of "Judging Amy" : DALY
64
Kind of blocker : BETA
65
Coastal raptors : ERNS
Down
1
Small-minded : PETTY
2
Sap sucker : APHID
3
Landing places : PIERS
4
Sleep preventer : ACHE
5
Secret engagement : TRYST
6
Martini's partner : ROSSI
7
Nice-to-Rome dir. : ESE
8
Storm part : EYE
9
Battlefield shout : MEDIC
10
Garlicky spread : AIOLI
11
Atlas enlargement : INSET
12
Distrustful : LEERY
14
Figure out : SOLVE
18
__ poisoning : LEAD
21
Last non-A.D. year : ONEBC
24
Boorish : CRUDE
25
BMW competitor : AUDI
26
Red shade : BEET
28
Police alert, for short : APB
29
Miler Sebastian : COE
30
"Morning Edition" airer : NPR
31
Tedium : ENNUI
32
"___ Ramsey," 1970's TV western : HEC
33
Just slightly : ATAD
34
Dr.'s orders : RXS
35
Frank's wife before Mia : AVA
36
Laotian money : KIP
38
Hit to short right, say : BLOOP
39
___ of Sandwich : EARL
43
No. on a new-car sticker : MSRP
44
"___ directed" : USEAS
45
Squirrel away : HOARD
46
Home to more than a billion : INDIA
47
Hold off : STALL
48
Comfortable : HOMEY
49
Like seven Nolan Ryan games : NOHIT
50
Nine: Prefix : ENNEA
51
Amber or umber : COLOR
52
Belted sky formation : ORION
53
Canal cleaners? : QTIPS
56
Purple shade : PUCE
58
One of the Bushes : JEB
59
Miner matter : ORE

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

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