When correctly filled in, the shaded boxes in each numbered line of the grid above will contain the name of a musical instrument. Enter the answer to each Outer clue next to its corresponding number in the grid, filling only the unshaded boxes and skipping over the shaded spaces in the middle. The letters in the boxes on the left form the beginning of an additional word, and the letters on the right form the end of yet another word. When you complete those two words in the shaded boxes, they reveal the name of the instrument. The additional words are clued, in random order, as Starts and Ends, but you will need to determine how to pair them and the length of each answer. The puzzle’s seven-letter answer word can be found by reading down one of the columns in the completed grid. The four circled letters, taken in order from top to bottom, spell the puzzle’s four-letter answer.

music Boxes1

Amy GOldSTEin, mikE ShEnk And RObERT lEiGhTOn ARE pARTnERS

in puzzAbiliTy, Which cREATES puzzlES fOR pRinT, inTERAcTivE

mEdiA And livE EvEnTS. dESiGnEd And illuSTRATEd by RumORS.

1 See the sights2 Sensitive to the touch3 Set aside for a special purpose, as funds4 R&b singer vandross5 part of a train track6 Arrive7 denounces viciously

OuTER EndSSTARTS

Fuse BoxesOnce you’ve solved all five numbered puzzles, enter each seven-letter answer into the corresponding row below. hidden within each of these answers is a four-letter answer word from one of the other puzzles. Those letters appear in proper order, though not necessarily in a single chunk. cross out the letters of these four-letter answers. The letters that are left, read in order, will spell out the answer to this question:

1 Somewhat dry, as a wine (hyph.) house, to José2 its nickname is “heart of dixie” diner list3 kiefer’s father up to this point (2 wds.)4 “_ _ _ a lady” (Tom Jones hit) puts on, as a play5 Rec room setting, often Abbr. on a pc key6 mason of “The Goodbye Girl” houston player7 Small, sizewise carpenter’s tools8 Garlicky seafood dish Take to the impound lot a second time9 Surface of some rural roads like many a poe tale

10 Reacted anxiously “Jurassic park” creature, for short (2 wds.)

ROWS

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cOlumnS

1 low-slung hound mama _ _ _ of the mamas and the papas2 Great server on the tennis court hawaiian hellos3 not oblivious most secure4 Those who belittle others blend5 Adorable child June honorees6 ham it up Join forces7 Shore bird Tomorrow, in Tijuana8 mirror sight hayworth and moreno9 Tennis legend monica kitchen appliance

10 Enjoyed a stick of gum finishes

1 flaky white fish often served with a lemon pip (3/4)2 check out container of soup (4/3)3 place inflatable item on a lorry (3/4)4 Strung flowers from hawaii come down in buckets (3/4)

ROWS WindinG

• man and woman like an outrageously early hour (6/7)• Stealthily move around fortune (6/4)• This puzzle’s solver’s the winner of four indy 500s (3’2/2 5)

Boxing Match

• before dawn, say• consider again, as a previous decision• pasta with pockets• Soldier trained to carry out raids• Something to talk about• “To Sir, With love” singer• voice above baritone

• comment• forgetful actor’s request• Goose’s mate• hue, in hereford• Tie up• Where “Sunflowers” was painted• zero

find the last names of seven famous painters hidden, one after another, in the “cubist” exhibit above by beginning at the R at the top of the stack of boxes and continuing in an unbroken chain along the connecting surfaces, spelling each name as you go. The last letter of each name is missing; you will have to enter it into a shaded circle. Those letters, taken in the order of the chain of names, will spell the puzzle’s seven-letter answer. When the puzzle has been completed, four letters in the stack will remain unused. Those four letters, read in order from top to bottom, will spell the puzzle’s four-letter answer.

Paint Boxes4

collection Boxesfirst identify the names of the 15 pictures above. fourteen of those words can be paired so that one of the four-letter words becomes one of the five-letter words with the addition of a single letter (at the beginning, middle or end, without rearranging the letters). for each pair, write the added letter next to the picture of the five-letter word. Then read those seven letters, in order, to get your seven-letter answer word. When you’re done, one picture will remain unused. The name of that picture is the puzzle’s four-letter answer.

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Two answers will be entered across each of the numbered rows of the grid at right. The clues for each pair of Rows answers are given in order, but they have been connected; you’ll need to determine their separation point in order to understand the clues individually. The Rows answers are crossed by the Winding answers, which start at the upper left and wind down one column and up the next in a continuous route through the entire grid. The Winding clues, which are given in order, also each consist of two joined clues for two consecutive answers. The number of letters in each answer (one of which is two words) is given after each clue. When you’re done, the shaded row will contain the puzzle’s seven-letter answer. The letters in the four corners of the grid, read clockwise from top left, will spell the puzzle’s four-letter answer.

squeeze Boxes

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When correctly filled in, each row and column of the grid below will contain two words. The clues for these words are given in pairs, though the order of the clues in each pair is random. Seven of the Rows clues lead to answers that are one letter too long for their spots in the grid; in each of these cases, you must drop the last letter of the answer to get a new word that fits into the grid. These seven dropped letters, in order of the rows, will spell the puzzle’s seven-letter answer. Additionally, one of the columns clues leads to a word that is one letter too long for its spot in the grid. you must drop this answer’s first letter to make it fit. The shortened word that you enter into the grid is the puzzle’s four-letter answer.

droP Boxes

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1 ARO

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TIO

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Ready to think inside the box? Today is boxing day, and if your home isn’t already overflowing with empty boxes, here are a few more to fill in. Solve the five numbered puzzles, each of which will give you both a seven-letter answer and a four-letter answer. Then follow the instructions for the last puzzle, fuse boxes, to get the answer to this question:

What did the shipper advise the overexcited customer who wanted to send his girlfriend a memorable gift?

(Answers will be published tomorrow.)

By amy Goldstein, mike shenk and roBert leiGhton

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16 fl. oz. This the

What did the shipper advise the overexcited customer who wanted to send his girlfriend a memorable gift?