Thursday, August 17, 2017

NYT Crossword 08/17/17 (Thu.)

Cruciverbalist: Peter A. Collins
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 15:21

Puzzle uniqueness:

Answer GANGOFFOUR  refers to three groups of four circled squares in which the circled squares form words that follow the word "four." (Example: Letters T-O-P-S in circled squares are clue to "Second set of circled letters" = Four Tops, so the answer is MOTOWNSINGERS.)

Words I hadn't known until now: 

AZO - Like some synthetic colorants"

Trivia I didn't know:

QAT - "Arabian stimulant"
LEY - "ESPN broadcaster Bob"
AVON - "River through Bath, England"
PLATTE - "River paralleled by I-80 through a long stretch of the Plains"
URALS - "Range located along the 60th meridian"

Junk answers:

ABIT - "Somewhat"
QAT - (See above)
AZO - (See above)
OTC - "Like Tylenol PM, for short"
LBS - "About 1,400 of them is the record for a human: Abbr."
TIA - "One in la familia"
OPS - "Black ___"
FAS - "Scale notes"
ISR - "Eastern Med. land"

Clever clues:

AVOID - "Verb for a dieter"
ATOMS - "Smithereens"
GENES - "Things in pools"

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words:

QAT - (See above)
AZO - (See above)
BORZOI - "Russian wolfhound"
ZELIG - "1983 Woody Allen film"
TWYLA - "Tharp of dance"
HAGEN - "Golfer

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