TAKE THREE
by Ken Stern
Solution: PEAR
The clues are cryptic clues, where the definition part gives the full answer and the wordplay part gives all but the first three letters. The enumeration is for the full answer, and as an aid the letters of the wordplay are given in alphabetical order for each group.
| Clue | Answer | Wordplay (of rest of solution) |
|---|---|---|
| Stressed about zirconium and oxygen (9) | SFORZANDO | Zr (R) + and + O |
| Driving without error, very fast (10) | BLISTERING | st[e]ering |
| Blotchy shoulder muscle briefly comes back (7) | MOTTLED | delt (R) |
| Spin doctor to tee up, lacking power (9) | PIROUETTE | to tee up* - P |
| Oldest woman is a recordholder? (6) | SLEEVE | Eve (2) |
| Coo about ornate design (6) | rococo | coo* |
| Decree put a Bobbsey twin in cooler (9) | ORDINANCE | i(nan)ce |
| Error mixed up ode to unknown woman (4 3) | JANE DOE | E + ode* |
| Superficial interest in showy jewelry (8) | dabbling | bling (2) |
| OJ trial judge returning hideout for custodians (10) | janitorial | Ito + lair (R) |
| Type of cloud over "Big" region in California (6) | CIRRUS | Sur (R) |
| Three Senators ousted at once as Pell is mixed up in wages (6 4) | TRIPLE PLAY | P(Pell*)ay |
| Endless ceremony involved in resistance procedure (9) | algorithm | O(rit[e])hm |
| Golfer is old hand, partly with hesitation (6 6) | arnold palmer | old + palm + er |
| Dude, it's an alligator (6) | CAIMAN | man (2) |
| Within French island, rarest blood type is unknown (8) | variable | i(AB)le |
| Waiting, perhaps, to get $1000 for a fortress (10) | STRONGHOLD | on(G)hold |
| All over the place, weave a trigonometric curve (4 4) | SINE WAVE | weave* |
| Chang and Eng, for example, shattered wine stems (7 5) | siamese twins | wine stems* |
| Popular Salt 'n' Pepa song (4 2) | push it | hit (2) |
| Approved L.A. Law actress Susan to return (6) | OKAYED | Dey (R) |
| German duchy is finished (7) | hanover | over (2) |
| Expand our style with a high mound of hair in front (9) | pompadour | pad + our |
The fact that three letters are omitted from each wordplay indicates that these three letters are to be used somehow, and the flavortext should clue that they are airport codes.
| Solution Word | Airport Code | Airport location |
| SFORZANDO | SFO | San Francisco [Intl], CA, US |
| BLISTERING | BLI | Bellingham [Intl], WA, US |
| MOTTLED | MOT | Minot [Intl], ND, US |
| PIROUETTE | PIR | Pierre [Pierre Regional Airport], SD, US |
| SLEEVE | SLE | Salem, OR, US |
| rococo | ROC | Rochester [Greater Rochester Intl], NY, US |
| ORDINANCE | ORD | Chicago [Chicago O'Hare Intl], IL, US |
| JANE DOE | JAN | Jackson [Jackson-Evers Intl], MS, US |
| dabbling | DAB | Daytona Beach [Intl], FL, US |
| janitorial | JAN | Jackson [Jackson-Evers Intl], MS, US |
| CIRRUS | CIR | Cairo [Cairo Regional Airport], IL, US |
| TRIPLE PLAY | TRI |
Bristol/Johnson/Kingsport [Tri-Cities Regional Airport], TN, US |
| algorithm | ALG | Algiers [Houari Boumediene], DZ |
| arnold palmer | ARN | Stockholm [Arlanda], SE |
| CAIMAN | CAI | Cairo [Cairo Intl], EG |
| variable | VAR | Varna, BG |
| STRONGHOLD | STR | Stuttgart [Echterdingen], DE |
| SINE WAVE | SIN | Singapore [Changi Intl], SG |
| siamese twins | SIA | Xi An [Xiguan], CN |
| push it | PUS | Busan (Pusan) [Gimhae (Kimhae)], KR |
| OKAYED | OKA | Okinawa [Naha], Ryukyu Island, JP |
| hanover | HAN | Hanoi [Noibai Intl], VN |
| pompadour | POM | Port Moresby [Jacksons], PG |
For each of the four groups, drawing the path on a map between the airports in the order indicated will produce the letters P, E, A and R in order, spelling out the answer PEAR.
The mention of "Great Circles" in the text might clue solvers to use the "Great Circle Mapper" (http://gc.kls2.com) to map the paths, as above, though any globe will do.