Saturday, April 20, 2019

Today’s Saturday Stumper

Today’s Newsday Saturday Stumper, by Greg Johnson, is a tough one. It’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard. It’s a hard Saturday Stumper, but it was a-gonna fall, I knew it, if I could keep at it. I did. It did. I wonder if Bob Dylan likes crossword puzzles.

A clue that taught me something: 41-Across, five letters, “Word from the Latin for ‘it lacks.’” Another clue that taught me something: 35-Down, eight letters, “Art that can fluoresce.” A third clue that taught me something: 51-Down, five letters, “Work signed on Mary’s sash.”

One bit of snark: 66-Across, ten letters, “Rolls Royce Ghost, e.g.” PRICEYAUTO? Nah. (By the way, that should be Rolls-Royce, with a hyphen.)

An especially odd and inventive clue: 62-Down, three letters, “Treat ‘served’ by Elvis, Gandalf, Glinda, etc., etc.” LSD? Wha?

No spoilers: the answers are blowin’ in the wind in the comments.

comments: 4

Michael Leddy said...

CARET. UVTATTOO. PIETA. GASGUZZLER. PEZ.

Merriam-Webster lends a hand:

Caret: “Latin, there is lacking, from carēre to lack, be without.”

I always confuse caret and carat, but there’s no relation: carat: “Middle English carrat measure of fineness in gold, from Middle French carat measure of fineness in gold or of weight in gems, from Italian carato, from Arabic qīrāṭ bean pod, a small weight, from Greek keration carob bean, a small weight, from diminutive ofkerat-,keras horn.”

Ghost gas mileage: city/highway/combined: 12/19/14 mpg. Source: Car and Driver.

Michael Leddy said...

See also Merriam-Webster on carat, karat, and caret.

joecab said...

The double "etc." at the end of the PEZ clue was a nice choice to hint at there being a LOT of different ones of these things.

And tough is right.

Michael Leddy said...

Yes, the many heads of Pez (the everyday carry of childhood). I knew that with only three letters I could rule out peanut butter and banana sandwiches.