05.07.10 — In Modern Lingo












Train wreck at Montparnasse, France, 1895





The highest form of  fail - the epic fail - involves not just catastrophic failure but hubris as well. Not just coming in second in a bike race but doing so because you fell off your bike after prematurely raising your arms in victory. The Online Slang Dictionary





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Friday, May 7, 2010





Puzzle by Tyler Hinman, edited by Will Shortz







Across:  1. Not just a mess-up, in modern lingo, EPIC FAIL, montage of Epic Fail, HERE; 9. Necessary, NEED BE; 15. Alternative to Holiday Inn, LA QUINTA; 16. First name that’s feminine in English and masculine in Italian, ANDREA; 17. Picker-uppers?, ANTENNAS; 18. Steps taken on a farm?, STILES; 19. Ball holders, TEES; 20. Nickname since 1959, ALOHA STATE; 22. “IT’S you!”; 23. Fern feature, SPORE; 24. Voiceless, in phonetics, SURD; 25. National capital on a river of the same name, OTTAWA; 27. Dinner DATE; 30. Union opponent, REB; 31. Big company located in Times Square, NASDAQ; 32. Salesperson who may give you a ring, AVON LADY; 34. Knock out, in a way, DRUG; 36. Film character who lives to be 877, YODA; 37. Swiss cheese ingredient, COW’S MILK; 41. Step on the way to the Olympics, maybe, TRIALS; 45. Old Spanish queen, ENA; 46. With 35-Down, something meant to be shaken, SNOW; 47. Naturally bright, SUNLIT; 48. High-school put-down, NERD; 50. Drainage area, BASIN; 52. Big inits. In camping, KOA; 53. Musician nicknamed El Rey, TITO PUENTE; 56. Guilt symptom, PANG; 57. Support in a stadium, ROOT ON; 58. Staple of classic rock, informally, ZEPPELIN; 60. Still, AT REST; 61. Spread out over time, in a way, AMORTIZE; 62. Welcome cry for the seasick, LAND HO; 63. Slurs, ASPERSES.





Down: 1. Rapture, ELATION; 2. C.I.A. director under Obama, PANETTA; 3. Battery used to measure brightness?, IQ TESTS; 4. Providers of tips for improving one’s English?, CUES; 5. Five bones, FIN; 6. “True Blood” actress, ANNA PAQUIN; 7. ITALO-Ethiopian War, 1935-36; 8. His #2 was retired in 1997, LA SORDA; 9. Org. with the motto “For the benefit of all”, NASA; 10. Docs with penlights, ENTS; 11. Shortens, maybe, EDITS; 12. Big name in radio advice, DR LAURA; 13. Really embarrassed, perhaps, BEET RED; 14. Passed effortlessly, EASED BY; 21. Emotionally tough to take, HEAVY; 23. They’re all abuzz, SWARMS; 26. Elaborates, ADDS; 28. Treat on a stick, TOOTSIE POP; 29. Evasive maneuver, END RUN; 33. Gone flat?, LAIN; 35. See 46-Across, GLOBE; 37. Key, CENTRAL; 38. The tiniest bit, ONE IOTA; 39. Opposite of pacific, WAR-TORN; 40. Annual celebration with candles, KWANZAA; 42. They’re basic, ALKALIS; 43. Put on a pedestal, LIONIZE; 44. Symbol of chastity, ST AGNES; 49. Lavished gifts (on), DOTED; 51. Cuts off, STEMS; 54. Deluxe, POSH; 55. “Come UNTO these yellow sands”: “The Tempest”; 56. Czech-born N.H.L.’er Sykora or Prucha, PETR; 59. Lead-in to wash, PRE.











Come unto these yellow sands, and then take hands;


curtsied when you have and kissed the wild waves whist,


foot it featly here and there;


and, sweet sprites, the burden bear.


Hark! Hark! Bow-wow!


The watchdogs bark.


Bow-wow-wow-wow!


I hear the strain of the strutting chanticleer cry


cock-a-diddle-dow! Cock-a-diddle-dow!





The Tempest, II:i, Shakespeare









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Click on image to enlarge.





Puzzle available on the internet at









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