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New York Times, Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Author:
David Benkof
Editor:
Will Shortz
35-Down : Begins to play
TotalDebutLatestCollabs
32/17/20004/3/20142
SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
0001200
RebusScrabDebutFresh
11.671746%
David Benkof

This puzzle:

Rows: 15, Columns: 15 Words: 78, Blocks: 36 Puzzle has duplicate clues. This is puzzle # 2 for Mr. Benkof. Wednesday freshness: 43%
David Benkof notes:

I "struck" upon the theme of this puzzle when I realized that a bowling theme makes the perfect rebus puzzle. It is rare in real life for someone to have a blank square and fill in a chemical element or a tiny heart or an ampersand. But bowlers fill in little white boxes with a / (SPARE) or an X (STRIKE) all the time.

For some reason, Will scheduled this rebus puzzle on a Wednesday instead of the usual gimmick day (Thursday). So regular solvers weren't expecting to run into a rebus. Of course, trying to think of an actual three-letter word at 1-Down for "Picketing, perhaps" (ONX) probably led a lot of people to realize something unusual was going on.

The grid had to be re-done once. Will liked the theme a lot, but I initially had "X YOURFANCY," which he asked to be changed to "X ONESFANCY."

Because of the unusual nature of the theme, the rebus squares aren't quite symmetrical, and the theme answer lengths range from 3 "letters" to 10 "letters."

1
O
2
M
3
E
4
G
5
A
6
T
7
Y
8
P
9
E
10
N
11
A
12
P
13
S
14
N
A
I
L
S
15
R
E
E
L
16
O
L
E
O
17
STRIKE
O
N
E
S
18
F
A
N
C
Y
19
T
O
R
A
20
S
A
I
D
S
O
21
T
I
E
U
P
22
T
23
O
24
P
S
I
D
E
25
S
26
C
A
M
27
I
R
A
28
L
E
I
29
F
30
P
R
E
31
F
32
A
33
B
34
A
I
R
35
STRIKE
36
S
N
L
37
R
O
T
A
R
Y
38
R
O
O
S
39
T
40
S
I
41
T
42
T
O
R
M
E
43
A
L
L
U
R
44
E
45
N
H
46
L
47
SPARE
R
I
B
48
S
E
E
P
I
N
49
T
E
A
50
K
51
A
N
Y
52
A
P
O
53
P
54
A
T
L
55
A
R
G
E
56
P
57
L
58
A
T
E
59
E
60
S
T
E
E
M
61
H
U
T
U
62
SPARE
N
O
E
X
P
E
63
N
64
S
65
E
66
I
N
O
N
67
M
A
M
A
68
T
N
O
T
E
69
L
A
N
E
70
E
L
E
M
71
O
D
D
E
R
© 2006, The New York Times11/15/6 ( No. 20,826 )
Across
1
Bulova alternative : OMEGA
6
Hunt and peck, e.g. : TYPE
10
Grabs 40 winks : NAPS
14
Manicurist's expertise : NAILS
15
Film vault holding : REEL
16
Relative of butterine : OLEO
17
Appeal to caprice : STRIKEONESFANCY
19
When tripled, a war movie : TORA
20
Gave the O.K. : SAIDSO
21
Highway headache : TIEUP
22
On the open deck : TOPSIDE
25
Ponzi scheme, e.g. : SCAM
27
You might put some money in it, briefly : IRA
28
Viking Ericson : LEIF
30
Kind of house : PREFAB
34
Military jets' mission : AIRSTRIKE
36
Show that inspired "30 Rock": Abbr. : SNL
37
Roundabout : ROTARY
38
Perch : ROOST
40
Perch : SIT
42
Musical Mel : TORME
43
Draw in : ALLURE
45
Calder Trophy org. : NHL
47
Something usually eaten with sauce : SPARERIB
48
Penetrate slowly : SEEPIN
49
Cedar alternative : TEAK
51
"___ luck?" : ANY
52
Each : APOP
54
Not caught : ATLARGE
56
Pentagonal part of a diamond : PLATE
59
High regard : ESTEEM
61
Native Rwandan : HUTU
62
Go all out for a party, say : SPARENOEXPENSE
66
___ a secret : INON
67
"Don't Tell ___" ("Cabaret" song) : MAMA
68
Fed. bill : TNOTE
69
Site associated with this puzzle's theme : LANE
70
Kind of sch. : ELEM
71
Comparatively peculiar : ODDER
Down
1
Picketing, perhaps : ONSTRIKE
2
Chinese revolutionary : MAO
3
German "a" : EIN
4
Sharon of "Cagney & Lacey" : GLESS
5
Attack violently : ASSAIL
6
Parts of some car deals : TRADEINS
7
Aches (for) : YENS
8
Zane Grey's "West of the ___" : PECOS
9
Ron who played Tarzan : ELY
10
"Hurry!" : NOTIMETOSPARE
11
Soothing plant : ALOE
12
Indiana town where Cole Porter was born : PERU
13
Halloween prankster's aid : SOAP
18
Bona ___ : FIDES
21
The Sun, The Moon or The Emperor : TAROT
22
Popes' headgear : TIARAS
23
National rival : ORIOLE
24
Conditional release : PAROLE
26
E.M.T. specialty : CPR
29
Longtime Buick plant site : FLINT
31
___, Straus and Giroux : FARRAR
32
Turning plowshares into swords? : ARMING
33
"Ta-ta!" : BYEBYE
35
Begins to play : STRIKESUPATUNE
39
Claptrap : TRIPE
41
1980's TV show with a stenciled logo : THEATEAM
44
Musician Brian : ENO
46
Glove material : LATEX
50
Compulsive lifter : KLEPTO
53
Kind of colony : PENAL
55
Alter : AMEND
56
TV's Dr. ___ : PHIL
57
Roman moon goddess : LUNA
58
Gobs : ATON
60
Not all : SOME
62
"Enough already!" : SPAREME
63
Wink's partner : NOD
64
Canonized mlle. : STE
65
Suffix with auction : EER

Answer summary:
2 unique to this puzzle, 2 debuted here and reused later.

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