saturday, october 20, 2007
patrick berry / will shortz
dfficulty factor: not too bad even for a saturday!
theme: none
i'm gonna jump out on a limb - with a saw in my hand - and flatly state that the most googled clue will be: 32A "it's 'heavier freight for the shipper than it is for the consignee': augustus thomas"
yes, that is the same sharp-dressed mr. augustus e. thomas who penned this brilliant observation concerning HATRED for his dark mystery play 'the witching hour'.
just imagine... for a brief moment, if you will... how much more heavy the freight is for authors joseph minton amann and tom breuer than it is for bill 13D O'REILLY! oh, how 39A IRATE they must be.
btw, just for sh*ts an' giggles, i took the 'test' at http://www.billoreilly.com/quiz "are you a 'culture warrior,' or are you in the secular-progressive (s-p) camp?" (gee, i just love labels, they're so con- oops, i me de-fining, accurate, all-purpose, and all-encompassing: fit for every occasion)... and... "based on the answers [i] gave... [i] have some traditional beliefs, but have not committed to either side." mus' be my warrior days are behind me... for either 'camp'... come t' think of it maybe it was the camping itself that i didn't like! (i wonder if my citizenship is in question here...)
while i did not necessarily know all of the answers today, most were within the 'intuit/guess range', with help from the crosses.
a mere stumble (thank god for the crosses [tgfc]) at 7A SAPSAGO, (sometimes spelled 'sap sago' is also known as 'schabziger', and is native to glarus, switzerand. it is a hard, low-fat cheese
made from an aged [over 90 days] young cows’ milk called 'ziger' (or 'zeiger'... gee should i expect to see that word or its nefarious var. soon?!) it gets its distinctly pale greenish color from a special kind of clover-type herb, blue melilot added to the milk before the skimming process. (no, i'm not a cheese snob by any stretch of the imagination, i researched it after the fill-in.)
band-aids were applied after the rural south 'kentucky to georgia' region of the puzzle: 43A VEBLEN... 35A RONDELET... 36D LESOTHO... and a klingon reference at 31A... ouch! who knew?
in the "your mileage may vary" category:
best clue of the day: 26D "typically green tube"... oh, it threw me for a bit, but it was indeed a very good clue.
best answer of the day: it's a tie! both 49A ODIOUSLY and 51A MINUTIAE are my kind of words!
worst clue of the day: 9D "enlivens with 'up'"... it's wrong on so many levels.
worst answer of the day: 28D PARTY FOUL... holy crap! i didn't know there were referees involved now... where are the rules posted? what are the exact infractions? what are the penalties? ("dann, [just as i'm about to get a drink] it has come to our attention that you didn't compliment mrs. brown's new hair-do. you must immediately a) re-enter, b) address your gregious gaffe (adding someting about the 'visually stunning fruit salad centerpiece', and then - and only then - c) get a drink.")
last sundays rambling included, as a light-hearted closer, some eye candy for the 40D FELLAS.[carol alt's 1982 sports illstrated cover.] today my wife suggested a reciprocal treat for the gals, so... here is 1A SPEEDO-man...
keep on keepin' on...
dann
all elements of the puzzle (grid layout, clues, and answers), NYT, NY Times, and The New York Times logo are ©2007 The New York Times
Friday
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2 comments:
this was a 5 band-aid-er for me. i need some mercurochrome.
corn,
isn't is just plain odd how some puzzles are easier for some/harder for others, and vice versa?
i have an untested theory that states something to the effect that "the brain works differently at different hours of the day, and under different emotional states..."
dann
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