Crossword: State of the State

crossword puzzle
A musical-themed crossword puzzle created exclusively for Halftime Magazine. Here is the May/June 2018 installment.

x-marks the spot

ACROSS

1. Rapid
5. Rational
9. Kathmandu is its capital
14. Double-reed woodwind
15. Actor Baldwin
16. Picture in a text?
17. University home to the Spirit Marching Band (in Albuquerque)
(2 words)
19. Customary
20. Bedtime, for some (2 words)
21. Pretzel shape
23. Make an attempt
24. Brass band instrument
27. Hospital staffers (abbrev.)
29. Fond du ___, Wisconsin
32. University home to The SOUND
of USD Marching Band (in Vermillion) (2 words)
38. Monthly utility bill (abbrev.)
40. Garfield’s canine companion
41. Garbage can insert
42. Make a quick change of direction
43. Ending with blind or broad
45. Four-___ harmony
46. Great grade (2 words)
48. Honolulu’s island
49. Really formal letter opening to a group of men
50. University home to the Ram
Marching Band (in Kingston) (2 words)
53. TV chef Rachael
54. Finale
55. Put on, as a uniform
57. Do sum work?
60. “Do as ___, not as I do” (2 words)
63. Answer back
67. It’s way quieter than forte
69. University home to the Pride of
the Southland Marching Band (in Knoxville)
72. Possible clef for trombones
73. BLT condiment
74. Cash register drawer
75. Sports page data
76. Place to store tools
77. Music store attraction

 

DOWN

1. Times New Roman, for example
2. Busy as ___ (2 words)
3. Strewn, as seeds
4. Entice
5. Charlie Parker’s instrument
6. Boxer played by Will Smith in 2001
7. Bottle or guitar feature
8. Financial major, for short
9. Gear position for idling
10. Typesetter’s width measures (named for a certain wide letter)
11. Protruding-lip expression
12. Open partway, like a door
13. Easter flower
18. Australian flightless birds
22. Like 1 and 3, but not 2 and 4
25. Shouts of disapproval that you
never want to hear from the stands
26. Sound signals
28. What scratches cause on CDs
29. “Reading Rainbow” host Burton
30. First letter of the Hebrew alphabet
31. Former “The Voice” judge Green
33. Like some waves or pools
34. Donkey’s sound (hyph.)
35. Recording studio alert (2 words)
36. Word before cotta or firma
37. ___-craftsy
39. Unprocessed, as oil
44. Sand hill
47. Oldest members of a high school band,
most often
51. Driver’s licenses or passports, for short
52. Take a risk
56. Markings where you don’t play
(but you still count)
57. Rentals in a complex (abbrev.)
58. Food regimen
59. Carvey who played Garth in “Wayne’s World”
61. Cash dispensers, for short
62. “I agree completely”
64. Thailand’s continent
65. Part of a honeycomb
66. Prefix before marketing or phone
68. “Failure is ___ an option”
70. “Science Guy” Bill
71. Say “yes” with a head motion

 

Solution:

fasten-ating

About author

Matt Jones

Matt Jones is a 1998 graduate of Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, where he majored in music education. Since 1994, he has also written crosswords for venues such as The New York Times, Games Magazine and Stagebill. He currently writes a syndicated weekly puzzle for more than 50 alternative newspapers across the country.

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