06.09.07 -- OCEANUS ANGST

Saturday, June 9, 2007
Puzzle by Karen M. Tracey, edited by Will Shortz
OCEANUS (39D Brother and husband of Tethys), OPENSEAS (14D Pirates' domain), AHAB (43A Captain of Stubb and Flask), BATEAU (11D River craft), FORDS (48D Wades through), TWINGE (41D Qualm) and PERIL (49D Precipice, say) give a seaworthy feel to this crossword puzzle otherwise filled with oceans of anxiety and depression such as NEUROSIS (54A Complex component), SUFFERS (35A Withstands), BEARUP (16A Manage adversity), FEARSOME (36D Ogrelike), GETSORE (32A Overdo it at the gym), FLED (48A Split), LONE (6D Set apart), SLIPSHOD (21D Loose), HISSAT (44D Greet cattily), HATERS (58A Bigots) and SKELETAL (59A Not fleshed out) JEZEBELS (23D Shameless hussies).
Elijah Confronts Jezebel, Ahab
Oceanic angst also manifests itself in flesh and blood with DUVALIER (13D President who claimed to be a voodoo priest), ERICIDLE (12D Author of "The Greedy Bastard: A Comic Tour of America"), AUDIE (27A Murphy of "To Hell and Back"), NOLTE (40A Best Actor nominee for "Affliction," 1998) and LEAR (10D He wrote "There was an old man of Thermopylae / Who never did anything properly...") and EGGHEADS (4D Einsteins) all in need of a little DIAZEPAM (28A Valium, generically), or maybe a little AMRITA (45D Hindu drink of immortality) for what AILS (24A Is peaked) them -- could it be EGOMANIA (33D Extreme bovarism)? Now there's a word! [after Madame Bovary] (domination by) a romantic or unreal conception of oneself: conceit; hence, bovaristic - conceited. ISURECAN (20A Confident affirmation) relate to that archaic but ORIGINAL (17A Fresh) definition, which I BELIEVE (8D Hold) EXISTS (3D Has substance) worse than an ULTIMATE (57A Paramount) GFORCE (1D Jet pilot's concern) -- could this be INANER (53A Less likely to fly?)...
...uh...not to mention GLEECLUB (1A Extracurricular activity traditionally for men), ALBEDO (9A Measure of reflected light), FOXGLOVE (15A Digitalis source), CATES (22A "Princess Caraboo" star, 1994), UGO (37A Tognazzi of "La Cage aux Folles"), LABOHEME (38A Opera that opens on Christmas Eve), MARIPOSA (50A County holding part of Yosemite National Park), CLIOS (5A Awards for some campaigns), BESSEL (46D German astronomer who was the first to measure the distance to a star), and GUNSMITH (32D Colt handler)...and...
...52D Remote option -- MUTE!
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For today's cartoon, go to The Crossword Puzzle Illustrated.
The New York Times Crossword Puzzle solution above is by the author of this blog and does not guarantee accuracy. If you find errors or omissions, you are more than welcome to make note of same in the Comments section of this post -- any corrections found necessary will be executed promptly upon verification.
Puzzle available on the internet at
THE NEW YORK TIMES -- Crossword Puzzles and Games
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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

GORGEOUS illustrations for the last two days -- thanks, Donald! A feast for the eyes.

I was glad to see that "pirates" referred to seafarers and not an athletics team (always problematic for me). I loved the "maritime feel" of the puzzle, like the brisk ocean breeze and hypnotic rhythm of the waves that I'm craving just now. Oh, to be a SMEW, diving deep into the briny broth! But alas, at present, I am a land-locked desert lizard.

Linda G said...

What she said about the illustrations. They're always good, but the last few days have been exceptional!