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Fencing thrust / THU 1-22-15 / Part of Scottish accent / Nonlethal ammo brand...
Constructor: Timothy PolinRelative difficulty: EasyTHEME: FIFTH / COLUMNS (15D: With 45-Down, subversive groups … or what the answers in the circled squares comprise?) — all the circled Downs (five...
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Shetland sweater style / FRI 1-23-15 / Tonic for tired blood / Phishing...
Constructor: Ed SessaRelative difficulty: Medium-ChallengingTHEME: noneWord of the Day: FAIR ISLE (40D: Shetland sweater style) — Fair Isle is a traditional knitting technique used to create patterns...
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German-born photographer Barth / SAT 1-24-15 / Hungarian liqueur sold in...
Constructor: Kevin G. DerRelative difficulty: EasyTHEME: noneWord of the Day: UNICUM (17A: Hungarian liqueur sold in green bottles) — Unicum is a Hungarian herbal liqueur or bitters, drunk as a...
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Republican politico Michael / SUN 1-25-15 / Embroidery loop / Did 1930s dance...
Constructor: Alan ArbesfeldRelative difficulty: EasyTHEME:"Twist Ending" — familiar phrases where last two letters have been switched ("twist"ed?) to create wackiness (with customary "?" cluing)Theme...
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Longtime Yugoslav leader / MON 1-26-15 / Tangy teatime offering / West Point...
Constructor: Ian LivengoodRelative difficulty: Medium-ish (my time was a teeny bit high for a Monday)THEME: FRESH START (56A: New beginning … or what 16-, 23-, 31-, 38- and 45-Across each have?) —...
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Noted French encyclopedist / TUE 1-27-15 / German WWI admiral / Indian state...
Constructor: James TuttleRelative difficulty: Medium-Challenging (**for a Tuesday**) THEME: Er .. Oh … — all theme answers end with final syllable that rhymes with "roh"Theme answers:KILIMANJARO (17A:...
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Silent screen vamp Naldi / WED 1-28-15 / Simple ragtime dance / Classic...
Constructor: Gary CeeRelative difficulty: MediumTHEME: I bet you think this song is about YOU — Songs that have YOU in their titles, arranged in pieces, symmetrically, such that the YOU at the center...
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2014 Broadway play based on Moss Hart's autobiography / THU 1-29-15 / Onetime...
Constructor: John FarmerRelative difficulty: Medium-ChallengingTHEME: "CUT OUT THE / MIDDLE MAN" (17A: With 58-Across, buy or sell direct … or what to do in this puzzle three times?) — three times...
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Mariposa relatives / FRI 1-30-15 / Foreign fortress / Setting for TV's...
Constructor: David PhillipsRelative difficulty: EasyTHEME: noneWord of the Day: SEGOS (9D: Mariposa relatives) — The Sego Lily, Calochortus nuttallii, is a bulbous perennial which is endemic to the...
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Post-Passover period / SAT 1-31-15 / His servant is Kurwenal in opera /...
Constructor: Tim CroceRelative difficulty: Medium-ChallengingTHEME: noneWord of the Day: OMER (55D: Post-Passover period) — Counting of the Omer (Hebrew: ספירת העומר, Sefirat HaOmer, sometimes...
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Nymph jilted by Paris / SUN 2-1-15 / Roman guardian spirit / Missal storage...
Constructor: David SteinbergRelative difficulty: Medium-ChallengingTHEME:"This n' That" — common "___ AND ___" phrases are reimagined as two-word phrases where the first word is a homophone of the "___...
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William who played Hopalong Cassidy in old westerns / MON 2-1-2015 /...
Happy February 2nd, everybody! And it's an Annabel day again! Happy February 2nd, everybody! And it's an Annabel day again! HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY!Constructor: Jeffrey WechslerRelative difficulty:...
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Small eel / TUE 2-3-15 / Doughnuts mathematically / Actress Patten Anders /...
Constructor: Joe KrozelRelative difficulty: Challenging (*for a Tuesday*)THEME: missing initials — all Across clues are common initialisms that are missing one initial; answers to those clues are the...
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Happily old style / WED 2-4-15 / Desk jockey's happy yell / Der Goldfisch...
Constructor: Julian LimRelative difficulty: MediumTHEME: Out in the middle of some phrase … — phrases that follow ___ OUT ___ pattern are clued for maximum wackification.Theme answers:CHECKOUT COUNTER...
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1953 hit for Julius La Rosa / THU 2-5-15 / Half-betazoid on Enterprise /...
Constructor: Mike BuckleyRelative difficulty: Easiest Thursday I've Ever Done (give or take)THEME: three songs Down, three songs Across — all 15-letters long … yes, that is the theme … yes, it is … I...
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Star Wars surname / FRI 2-6-15 / Colonial heretic Hutchison / Fruit...
Constructor: Kyle MahowaldRelative difficulty: ChallengingTHEME: noneWord of the Day: ORGANA (40D: "Star Wars" surname) — The House of Organa, also known as the Royal House of Alderaan, the Royal...
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Hit radio comedy about bridge--playing couple / SAT 2-7-15 / 1980s MP...
Constructor: Byron WaldenRelative difficulty: MediumTHEME: noneWord of the Day:"EASY ACES" (7A: Hit radio comedy about a bridge-playing couple) — Easy Aces, a long-running American serial radio comedy...
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Ahab's father / SUN 2-8-15 / Princess of Power from 1980s cartoons /...
Constructor: Jeremy NewtonRelative difficulty: MediumTHEME:"Multifaceted"— theme answers feature two sets of circled squares, which, when combined, spell out a precious stone. Between the two sets of...
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Othello evildoer / MON 2-9-15 / Tree that yields chocolate substitute /...
Constructor: Lynn LempelRelative difficulty: Medium-Challenging (should've been a Tuesday)THEME: Who Killed Waldo and Then Hid His Dismembered Body in Some Theme Answers? — rearranged letters in WALDO...
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Flag carrier of Japan / TUE 2-10-15 / Where redneck gets red / George who...
Constructor: Kurt Mengel and Jan-Michele GianetteRelative difficulty: MediumTHEME: Sick day — phrases meaning, vaguely, "ailing," are clued as if they had specific relation to some occupation:Theme...
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