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IT'S A MYSTERY

New York Times, Sunday, September 21, 2008

Author:
Brendan Emmett Quigley
Editor:
Will Shortz
57-Down : Nobodies
TotalDebutLatestCollabs
1938/7/199612/22/202321
SunMonTueWedThuFriSatVariety
385152119522716
RebusCircleScrabDebutFresh
531.631,16472%
Brendan Emmett Quigley

This puzzle:

Rows: 21, Columns: 21 Words: 140, Blocks: 68 Missing: {X} This is puzzle # 127 for Mr. Quigley. Sunday freshness: 80%
1
C
2
H
3
I
4
N
5
T
6
Z
7
W
8
O
9
O
10
D
11
L
12
O
13
T
14
C
15
H
16
E
17
Q
18
U
19
E
20
M
A
D
E
R
A
21
O
N
A
T
E
A
R
22
A
U
B
U
R
N
23
D
R
E
W
U
N
24
I
V
E
R
S
I
T
Y
25
S
T
R
E
S
S
26
H
E
I
N
E
27
G
E
S
28
T
E
29
O
E
I
L
30
C
31
D
32
R
A
T
E
S
33
F
34
I
35
S
H
S
T
O
R
36
Y
37
N
N
E
38
H
U
E
V
O
S
39
S
A
N
E
40
S
T
E
41
A
M
E
R
42
O
B
I
E
43
D
E
B
U
T
44
S
45
R
I
A
L
T
O
46
M
A
G
N
47
U
48
M
O
P
U
S
49
P
50
A
A
R
51
L
I
T
52
R
53
E
54
P
I
N
55
P
A
R
T
56
E
57
Z
I
N
E
58
C
A
S
H
I
N
59
M
I
S
S
U
60
S
61
E
L
K
62
H
O
T
S
E
A
T
63
P
64
O
65
S
E
66
H
A
M
M
67
E
R
T
H
68
R
O
W
69
U
R
L
S
70
A
P
P
A
71
R
E
L
72
E
N
O
73
S
A
M
P
74
L
E
75
L
E
A
N
E
D
76
B
A
L
S
77
A
78
G
E
E
D
79
M
80
S
81
S
82
E
N
D
I
T
83
R
A
R
A
84
F
85
E
L
L
A
S
86
L
E
E
P
87
E
E
R
88
I
E
R
89
I
90
N
T
R
A
Y
91
E
D
E
R
92
A
93
R
C
S
I
N
E
94
B
E
A
N
95
S
96
A
F
I
R
E
97
R
E
A
98
M
A
S
99
O
100
N
101
J
A
R
S
102
L
A
C
T
A
S
E
103
M
U
S
104
E
105
H
E
L
I
O
106
A
G
N
E
W
107
O
B
I
S
108
P
O
109
L
E
A
110
D
111
D
112
E
T
E
C
T
I
113
V
114
E
115
S
116
R
E
N
T
A
L
117
A
C
D
E
L
C
O
118
T
E
N
S
E
S
119
S
N
O
O
Z
E
120
S
E
S
S
I
O
N
121
A
N
G
O
L
A
© 2008, The New York Times9/21/8 ( No. 21,502 )
Across
1
Drapery material : CHINTZ
7
Lumber supplier : WOODLOT
14
Item marked in pounds : CHEQUE
20
City and county of central California : MADERA
21
Rushing : ONATEAR
22
Hair color : AUBURN
23
School in Madison, N.J. : DREWUNIVERSITY
25
Cause of worry lines : STRESS
26
Poet whose last words were "Of course [God] will forgive me; that's his business" : HEINE
27
"Beau ___" : GESTE
29
Coup d'___ (quick glance) : OEIL
30
Bank postings : CDRATES
33
Don't believe it : FISHSTORY
37
Seward-to-Fairbanks dir. : NNE
38
___ rancheros : HUEVOS
39
Levelheaded : SANE
40
Raw bar offering : STEAMER
42
Officer in "Alice's Restaurant" : OBIE
43
Launches : DEBUTS
45
Classic theater name : RIALTO
46
"The Divine Comedy," for Dante : MAGNUMOPUS
49
1950s-'70s TV host : PAAR
51
Petrol purchase : LITRE
54
It's often punched on a keypad : PIN
55
Reader's goal : PART
56
Online reading : EZINE
58
Redeem : CASHIN
59
Wife, informally : MISSUS
61
Fraternity member : ELK
62
Difficult situation : HOTSEAT
63
Sitting with one's hand on one's chin, e.g. : POSE
66
Track-and-field event : HAMMERTHROW
69
Google results : URLS
70
Duds : APPAREL
72
Record producer who published the diary "A Year With Swollen Appendices" : ENO
73
Appetite whetter : SAMPLE
75
Favored one side or the other : LEANED
76
Kon-Tiki material : BALSA
78
Turned right : GEED
79
What eds. read : MSS
82
Get divorced : ENDIT
83
___ avis : RARA
84
Dropped off : FELLASLEEP
87
More spooky : EERIER
89
Work site? : INTRAY
91
German river : EDER
92
Trig angle : ARCSINE
94
Salad morsel : BEAN
95
"On Language" columnist : SAFIRE
97
Mens ___ (guilty mind) : REA
98
Pantry array : MASONJARS
102
Enzyme in some yeasts : LACTASE
103
There's one for dance : MUSE
105
Prefix with centric : HELIO
106
Only U.S. vice president born in Maryland : AGNEW
107
San Luis ___ : OBISPO
109
Ones in charge of a case ... or a literal hint to the eight other longest answers in this puzzle : LEADDETECTIVES
116
Vacation arrangement : RENTAL
117
Big name in auto parts : ACDELCO
118
French subjects? : TENSES
119
Alarm clock button : SNOOZE
120
Psychiatric visit : SESSION
121
Major diamond exporter : ANGOLA
Down
1
Mil. authority : CMD
2
Laugh start : HAR
3
Suffix with cyan- : IDE
4
City with the world's first telephone directory (1878) : NEWHAVEN
5
Loyally following : TRUETO
6
Nuts : ZANIES
7
Had work looming? : WOVE
8
Combined : ONE
9
Blade in sports : OAR
10
The shakes : DTS
11
"The Da Vinci Code" scholar Sir ___ Teabing : LEIGH
12
Novelist who wrote "The Gravedigger's Daughter" : OATES
13
No-tell motel visit : TRYST
14
Italy's Reggia di ___ (royal palace) : CASERTA
15
Pizza ___ : HUT
16
River that rises in Cantabria : EBRO
17
Beloved figure in England : QUEENMOTHER
18
Bearlike : URSINE
19
Eve ___, "The Vagina Monologues" monologist : ENSLER
24
Connections : INS
28
Quaint letter opener : TOSIR
30
Eating sound : CHOMP
31
Persian Gulf emirate : DUBAI
32
Cover many subjects? : REIGN
33
Extremely pleasing, in slang : FABU
34
Occupied : INUSE
35
Word with smart or mind : SET
36
Upbraid : YELLAT
39
Biological dividing wall : SEPTUM
41
Being debated : ATISSUE
43
Kind of fin : DORSAL
44
Dumped out : SPILT
45
Singer Corinne Bailey ___ : RAE
47
Longtime news inits. : UPI
48
Potato choice : MASHED
50
Egyptian crosses : ANKHS
52
Yemeni money : RIAL
53
Tolkien creatures : ENTS
57
Nobodies : ZEROS
58
Southern legume : COWPEA
59
Scoundrels : MEANIES
60
Window washer's boo-boo : SMEAR
62
Unlikely to be Miss America : HOMELY
63
Ghostlike : PALE
64
Big tournament : OPEN
65
Card game played to 61 : SPADECASINO
67
China's Zhou : ENLAI
68
Loose overcoat : RAGLAN
71
Condense again, as an article : RETRIM
74
The Mormons, initially : LDS
76
High jump need : BAR
77
Certain photo caption : AFTER
79
Broadcasters, e.g. : MEDIA
80
Predictors : SEERS
81
Brief indulgence : SPREE
83
"Malcolm in the Middle" boy : REESE
85
Cy Young candidates' stats : ERAS
86
Liberal : LEFTWING
88
Behind : INAHOLE
90
Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy org. : NBA
92
Safeguards : ARMORS
93
Deli order : REUBEN
95
Sacred places : SANCTA
96
Winning hand in blackjack : ACETEN
99
Stewpots : OLLAS
100
Certain flower girl : NIECE
101
"The Grapes of Wrath" family : JOADS
102
T-shirt size: Abbr. : LGE
104
"___ perpetua" (Idaho's motto) : ESTO
106
Lots : ATON
108
Opposite of guerra : PAZ
110
Paris's Parc ___ Princes : DES
111
Sixth-century year : DLI
112
Prefix with freak : ECO
113
Letters on a brandy bottle : VSO
114
Marine predator : EEL
115
Org. that has its benefits : SSA

Answer summary:
5 unique to this puzzle, 8 debuted here and reused later.

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