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New York Times, Saturday, August 3, 2013

Author:
Brad Wilber and Doug Peterson
Editor:
Will Shortz
Blog:
37-Across : Not reliable
TotalDebutLatestCollabs
602/19/20055/31/202233
SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
014301438
CircleScrabDebutFresh
21.6035482%
Brad Wilber
TotalDebutLatestCollabs
572/20/200610/13/202435
SunMonTueWedThuFriSatVariety
6383313183
RebusScrabDebutFresh
31.6226368%
Doug Peterson

This puzzle:

Rows: 15, Columns: 15 Words: 70, Blocks: 25 Missing: {JQZ} Spans: 2 This is puzzle # 32 for Mr. Wilber. This is puzzle # 32 for Mr. Peterson. Saturday freshness: 50%
Constructor notes:

BRAD:

The old adage of "good longer stacks start with the stacking of useful shorter stems" was especially true here, as I realized ONLINE went nicely atop GOLDEN, and what remained was to pick compatible tails. Doug liked LIE DETECTOR in the stack and added MALL COP; he's also responsible for those two great clues.

We tried a few design configurations in the middle and realized we'd have to have some long vertical entries too or the word count would tip over into 72 or 74. BOXER BRIEFS won out over other –EFS we tried. I had just been doing some work in the trenches at the end of the alphabet on my word list, so new addition WAX TABLET helped matters a lot, facilitating ___ FAMILY.

And we had to decide whether or not to have the vertical 15s, rather than going with SEWELL or NEWELL or LOWELL or whatever. TO A FARE-THEE-WELL had actually been on my list of possible seed entries. But did we ever take some ribbing for it (fewer people seemed to recognize it than I expected) — and since the puzzle appeared the Saturday before Lollapuzzoola, some of the ribbing was in person! Still, I think this was a grid most solvers were quite happy with.

1
S
2
O
3
T
4
H
5
A
6
B
7
E
8
R
9
D
10
A
11
S
12
H
13
E
14
R
15
W
H
O
16
O
N
C
L
O
U
D
N
I
N
E
17
E
P
A
18
R
I
C
K
Y
N
E
L
S
O
N
19
E
L
F
20
M
A
N
21
H
A
N
S
22
M
R
T
23
T
E
A
R
S
24
B
A
L
E
25
K
A
M
A
26
S
A
R
I
27
W
O
R
F
28
A
N
S
E
L
29
O
S
E
30
W
A
X
T
A
31
B
L
E
T
32
P
E
T
33
M
I
C
E
34
M
A
E
W
E
35
S
36
T
37
H
I
T
O
R
38
M
I
S
S
39
R
P
I
40
G
41
O
E
T
H
42
B
A
L
K
43
M
S
R
P
44
A
R
E
A
45
O
R
L
Y
46
T
I
V
O
S
47
S
S
W
48
G
A
I
L
49
W
O
N
O
U
T
50
L
I
E
51
D
E
T
E
C
52
T
O
R
53
I
T
E
54
O
N
L
I
N
E
F
O
R
U
M
55
C
U
R
56
G
O
L
D
E
N
S
P
I
K
E
57
E
P
S
© 2013, The New York Times8/3/13 ( No. 23,279 )
Across
1
Bar fixture : SOT
4
Person who might suit you well? : HABERDASHER
15
Start of many a "Jeopardy!" response : WHO
16
Transported : ONCLOUDNINE
17
Org. with an Office of Water : EPA
18
"Poor Little Fool" hitmaker, 1958 : RICKYNELSON
19
Danny who composed the theme music for "The Simpsons" : ELFMAN
21
Eponymous Dr. Asperger : HANS
22
Onetime Michael Jackson bodyguard : MRT
23
Benders : TEARS
24
Sight on a "Hee Haw" set : BALE
25
Hindu god often depicted with a bow and arrow : KAMA
26
A choli may be worn under this : SARI
27
"Star Trek: T.N.G." role : WORF
28
Name on the cover of "Yosemite and the High Sierra" : ANSEL
29
Verb suffix? : OSE
30
Ancient scribe's work surface : WAXTABLET
32
Treadmill runners, maybe : PETMICE
34
"Sex is an emotion in motion" speaker : MAEWEST
37
Not reliable : HITORMISS
39
Empire State tech school : RPI
40
"Pride ___ before destruction": Proverbs : GOETH
42
Be uncooperative : BALK
43
Showroom window no. : MSRP
44
Discipline : AREA
45
European hub : ORLY
46
Show stoppers? : TIVOS
47
Leipzig-to-Zurich dir. : SSW
48
Columnist Collins : GAIL
49
Was triumphant in the end : WONOUT
50
Inventor's undoing? : LIEDETECTOR
53
Mineralogical appendage? : ITE
54
Avatar setting : ONLINEFORUM
55
Base man : CUR
56
Image on Utah's state quarter : GOLDENSPIKE
57
Baker's dozen for the Beatles, for short : EPS
Down
1
Tree also known as a sugar apple : SWEETSOP
2
"You've got to be kidding!" : OHPLEASE
3
Perfectly : TOAFARETHEEWELL
4
Wedding rings? : HORAS
5
Have ___ (be advantageously networked) : ANIN
6
Secret attachment, for short : BCC
7
South Bend neighbor : ELKHART
8
Court group : ROYALFAMILY
9
Dominick who wrote "A Season in Purgatory" : DUNNE
10
Some Snapple products : ADES
11
Conan O'Brien's employer from '88 to '91 : SNL
12
1899 painting used to promote gramophones : HISMASTERSVOICE
13
Massive, as a massif : ENORME
14
National service : RENTAL
20
Internal investigation, for short? : MRI
24
Hybrid menswear : BOXERBRIEFS
25
Grasped : KNEW
27
Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum site : WACO
28
Many are blonde : ALES
30
Among : WITH
31
Enjoy the moment : BASK
33
Copier giant absorbed by the Kyocera Corporation : MITA
35
Appear suddenly : SPROUTUP
36
Track consultants : TIPSTERS
38
Banana Republic defender, maybe : MALLCOP
40
Ersatz blazer : GASLOG
41
Speaker of Shakespeare's "If music be the food of love, play on" : ORSINO
43
Calculus calculation: Abbr. : MIN
45
Like some gruel : OATEN
46
Pioneer in cool jazz : TORME
48
Mapped item : GENE
49
"Marjorie Morningstar" novelist : WOUK
51
Got out of the way : DID
52
Head of state? : TRI

Answer summary:
5 unique to this puzzle, 4 debuted here and reused later, 1 unique to Modern Era but used previously.

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