1. The Words, fable, thews, fordable
2. OURS
3. rush-dating, straight-A student
4. ate none of our
5. lascar, rascal
6. OURS
7. Bruce Willis; rue, swill, bis
8. seashells, Seychelles
9. OURS
10. slug Biden, blessing in disguise
11. OURS
12. Gore Vidal, large void
13. whit. Eyen
14. OURS
15. talk shop, Shock Top
16. OURS
17. ref foreign? It's a stingier offer
18. OURS
19. silicon dioxide; Condi, Io. LXI, side
20. undeserved revenues
21. OURS
22. Cuba rock
23. b(acca)rat
24. largest, laser tag, straggler, targetless
25. c'est la vie
26. OURS
27. angel, Langella
28. arch(r)ival
29. OURS
30. Gilroy, CA
31. Iranian earthquakes
32. Woody Allen's Take the Money and Run
33. Hope Springs with Steve Carell
34. Pussy Riot
35. Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle
36. "God does not play dice with the universe"
37. American
38. Darwin's Theory of Evolution
39. New Orleans
40. basics
41. Willard Mitt Romney
42. Hurricane Isaac
43. candidates Obama and Romney
44. Niccolo Machiavelli
45. Mark Levin
46. Fox News
47. American presidential elections
CF-1. oration, Ontario
CF-2. (Z)en garde(n)
CF-3. cruciverbalist
CF-4. bookend, spout, bond, spoke out
CF-5. posh, hops, shop
CF-6. lime rickey, limerick
CF-7. (b/d)eacon
CF-8. E
ALI
AGENT
ELEMENT
INEPT
TNT
T
CF-9. salient, alien, lie, I
CF-10.
CF-11. musical, Musial
CF-12.
CF-13. viscousness, viscountess
CF-14. (q/g)uest; play cards, placards
CF-15. substitute coach
CF-16. the rear eel, even as
CF-17. pip clicks, clip pix
CF-18. draw, Nina elicits orca
CF-19. Eli Ned is carded
CF-20. triptych, cryptic
CF-21. nom, bomb
CF-22. employee, Maypole, amply
CF-23. blather, tetherball
CF-24. No(a)m
CF-25. lo(n/v)ely
CF-26. Princeton; rinsed, pun
CF-27. slot machine
CF-28. Vangelis, leaving Las Vegas
F-1. GF
LNLD
CSSNDR
F-2. OURS
F-3. RPBLCN
PPRVLT
BRKNFS
LVNGRM
CLFRNT
NTSMTS
F-4. S Q U E A L E R
T U N A C A N
R I T T E R
A C R E S
I K O N
G A D
H N
S T D
A W E D
O M A N I
C L A M O R
S H O T P U T
T O U R I S T Y
F-5. MISSPENT
IMITATOR
SIDELINE
STEREOMS
PALEALES
ETIOLATE
NONMETAL
TRESSELS
F-6. OURS
F-7. DDEIL
DICEE
ECALA
IELAD
LEADDAICI
AIHAE
IHEIG
CAICE
IEGEE
F-8. MMMMMMMM
MNIACEAE
MILLDAMS
MALVOLIO
MCDONALD
MEALABLE
MAMILLAR
MESODERM
X-1. PRIDE
PLIMSTIMSE
RAMIEANINL
ETENNRFNEI
JESSESEIEZ
USPERTRMPA
DLARSRIARB
ICTILOONIE
CDEEITTOST
ESNSESOESH
DARCY
ACROSS DOWN
1. LIMPS 1. PLATES
5. TIMES 2. RIMES
9. AMIR 3. MINISERIES
10. LEAN IN 4. SENDER
11. TENNER 5. TEARS
12. FINE 6. INFERIOR TO
13. JESSE 7. MINIM
14. SEIZE 8. SNEE
15. SUPERTRAMP 16. PATEN
19. LARDS 17. TAROTS
21. BRIAR 18. PRISSY
23. CITI 19. LCDS
24. LOONIE 20. SLIDE
25. DECEIT 22. CANOE
26. TOTS
27. SENSE
28. SHOES
X-2. Everything in the universe goes by indirection. There are no straight lines. Ralph Waldo Emerson
X-3. OURS
X-4. One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar. Helen Keller
X-5. PIGPENRAFTS
OLDSAWELOKI
RIPARADOXES
TAILTWEETAS
LILTHYEARLY
AILEDOMDOOM
NDARTMOUTHI
DAVYTIANNAS
CHOPINSGEMS
AOCONGOEBRO
SEARCHFORYU
KIDSTBANNER
SHOOSASSISI
The five shaded entries are Missouri, Nebr(aska), Wyoming, Idaho and Portland, representing the route followed by the OREGON TRAIL. Scrambling IEASLTWLADDDACGORKS w/o ODD A&D TAGS gives Lewis & Clark.
X-6. CAMERAMANBEEP
ORIGAMIFIENDS
MISSOURIRACME
EDTBUSBRITONU
TRELLISESHRED
SALOONERASEAO
SZSTAGEIMPUTE
TOASTYSPARROW
ARITUALPIYLPI
MULEFHOLSTEIN
PRESTOMELTING
SUDSCONDENSES Answer: The Fly
ACROSS
1. CAMEROON (CAMERAMAN/SALOON)
2. STEP (STAGE/BEEP)
3. ORIGIN (ORIGAMI/HOLSTEIN)
4. IMPENDS (IMPUTE/FIENDS)
5. MISS OUT ON (MISSOURI/BRITON)
6. TREME (TRELLIS/ACME)
7. BRIEFLY (BRITON/THE FLY)
8. MEL TILLIS (MELTING/TRELLIS)
9. SHAMAN (SHRED/CAMERAMAN)
10. SALAMI (SALOON/ORIGAMI)
11. SPARSE (SPARROW/ERASE)
12. PRESAGE (PRESTO/STAGE)
13. ACUTE (ACME/IMPUTE)
14. TORI (TOAST/MISSOURI)
15. THROW (THE FLY/SPARROW)
16. MUTUAL (MULE/RITUAL)
17. FILE (FIENDS/MULE)
18. HOLSTERED (HOLSTEIN/SHRED)
19. ERATO (ERASE/PRESTO)
20. SUNG (SUDS/MELTING)
21. BEDS (BEEP/SUDS)
22. CONDE NAST (CONDENSES/TOAST)
? RISES (RITUAL/CONDENSES)
X-7. OURS
X-8. OURS
X-9. Vote, n. The instrument and symbol of a freeman's power to make a fool of himself and a wreck of his country. Bierce
X-10. A grandmother pretends she doesn't know who you are on Halloween. Erma Bombeck
X-11. Human beings are the only creatures on earth that allow their children to come back home. Bill Cosby
X-12. OTWANREHL
LNEWTHOAR
ARHLOENTW
TEARLOHWN
WHRNATLEO
NOLHEWART
RWOEHNTLA
HLTOWARNE
EANTRLWOH
X-13. Spoon feeding in the long run teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon. E. M. Forster
C-1. OURS
C-2. Frank and Ernest's comic scheme to balance product's fifty-percent failure rate: buy one, get one free.
C-3. OURS
C-4. OURS
C-5. Otherwise average wildebeest is skilled mosaicist. Zookeeper: "We're happy to have a typical gnu and tiler too!"
C-6. Before irony, even before Goldie, brassy Phyllis Diller had silvery hair, a tinny laugh, and steely confidence.
C-7. University creates art official intelligence with new courses instructing fledgling sculpture jurists.
DOWN ANSWERS: LEIS, TUFT, ARID, SPRY, TESS, BEAT, IRIS, SEES, MIST, BLOT, PINE, NEATO, AFIRE, YAHOO, RAOUL, AISLE, RAZOR, STAMPS, PSEUDO, COMETS, SAILED, ENCORE, EWINGS, AMUSING, RIPPLED