Crossword Puzzle 1
$&5266
1 Saudi Arabia
neighbor 5 Protractor’s
measure 10 Caustic chemical 14 Forbidding word 15 President between
Harrison and Polk 16 Writer -affe 17 Santa and his reindeer landed __ 19 Territory near the
Mariana Trench 20 Actress/writer Issa 21 Many Christmas
trees 22 Oklahoma city on the Arkansas River 23 Correcting
myopia, maybe 25 Stockholm
citizens
26 Small snack 27 Before heading down the chimney, Santa __
30 App reviewers 32 Length of TV’s
“60 Minutes” 33 Stepping out of the fireplace, Santa left a __ 40 4uarter or pound 41 Like some garden
lights
42 After filling the last one, Santa hung the __ 48 “Children of
Blood and Bone” writer Adeyemi 49 On the up and up 50 Homegrown 52 Broad necktie 53 (ditorialize 55 Flight takeoff appro[imation Abbr.
57 Old Russian
leader
58 All in all, Santa had a very busy __! 60 French 101 verb 61 __ tot
62 Like a red Red
Delicious
63 Diana of the
Supremes 64 Speaker of the
house? 65 Beehive State
people
'2:1
1 Fragrance
2 Da Vinci portrait
in the Louvre 3 Long-tongued
insectivore 4 Utmost degree
5 “I haven’t __ to
wear!”
6 “Black Panther”
star Lupita 7 Sticky stuff
8 More or __
9 “I heard him e[claim, __ he drove out of sight ... ” 10 Bickers
11 May’ve
12 “Almost ready!” 13 Fabric named for
Syria’s capital 18 Prefi[ with center 22 Whippersnappers 24 Croat’s neighbor 25 Tightly closed 26 Tampa Bay NFLer 28 Havaianas shoe,
e.g. 29 Additionally 31 Lightbulb’s place 34 *ritty film genre 35 Classic Cadillac
feature
36 Round flatbread 37 “Five stars!” 38 Personalized
iron-on
39 Bi- plus one 42 Adam Rippon,
for one
43 Play catch with 44 Hollywood
awards 45 Washing dishes,
doing laundry, etc. 46 Not genderspecific 47 Bacon Turkey Bravo sandwich chain
51 Number of digits
in a billion
53 __ hygiene 54 Folk icon Seeger 56 Changes color,
perhaps
58 Org. that may support a school board
59 Hilton brand
First of all, I hope my readers enjoy a merry Christmas or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa.
Here is this year’s quiz.
1. Cover the East and West hands. (They will change when the answer is given on Feb. 1, 2024.) South is in three no-trump. West leads the heart 10. How should South plan the play?
2. Change the vulnerability to East-West. Give an auction, assuming South is the dealer and East-West retain a respectful silence.
For the remaining questions, assume neither side is vulnerable.
3a. Look only at the North hand. South opens one spade. What would be your bidding plan? 3b. South opens one heart, you respond one spade (would you?),and South rebids one no-trump, showing 12-14 points. What would be your auction plan?
4. Look only at the East hand. The auction starts one heart on your right. Would you intervene with one spade? Assuming you pass, South responds three hearts (game-invitational limit raise), and North ends the auction with four hearts. What would you lead?
5. Look only at the South hand. North opens one no-trump, 15-17 points. a. What would you respond? b. Would your answer differ between a pair event and a team match?
6. Look only at the West hand. East opens one heart, and South overcalls two diamonds. What would you do?
Mail your entry to Phillip Alder, c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut Street, Kansas City, MO 64106 to arrive by Jan. 20, 2024, or email it to phillip@bridgeforeveryone.com.
The answers to questions 3 through 6 will be given on Feb. 2. Please take as read all of the usual disclaimers, and remember that this is primarily for fun.