dannmann's NYT crossword puzzle ramblings

SUNDAY, october 28, 2007
talking heads
ben tausig / will shortz

difficulty factor: for a sunday puzzle, this had some very saturday moments! it was a good test.

theme: talking heads: constructor tausig 84D PUNNED IT o' plenty! he took a bevy of pundits LAST names and inserted them in fairly amusing [groan... giggle... smile... groan... laugh... groan again] expressions!

• 25A FRANKEN SENSE [frankincense]
• 27A WHY PAY MAHER [why pay more] (?!)
• 46A LIFE OF O'REILLY [life of riley]
• 64A YOU'RE GETTING COULTER [you're getting colder!]
• 77A DO THE LIMBAUGH [do the limbo]
• 104A DONAHUE DARE [don'-a-you dare!]
• 106A IMUS BE OFF NOW [i must be off now...]

there were come great images congered in this puzzle. many great pieces of arcane info dredged from many areas of life and learning. and just a bit of drek.

by 55A "carnatic pieces" i hope the cluer meant "the plural of 'component'", as carnatic music (which derives its name from the root karnatak - a region in southern india) is based in the use of two ethereal elements in interaction within a 'piece': the raga (representing the melody) and the thala (representing the rhythm/time structure.) [thank you, mr.tobin!]

regarding 37A "natural riser" : HEAT... i remember my chemist father saying, "heat rises" perhaps thousands of times while i was growing up... as a side bar, my older brother and i shared bunk beds as kids. i made use of this expression by bucking for the lower/cooler bed in the summer and the upper/warmer bed in the winter! i'm not sure he ever knew why... for other reasons (like open doors... heat rushing IN in the summer, and OUT in the winter) my dad was also very fond of touting that "HEAT travels from hot to cold!" other than repeating this at a ear-peircing volume for the benefit of my own forgetful lads when they were younger, i've never made much use of it. but just growing up in proximity of such a fountain of wisdom, i garnered 17D EASY A'S in science courses.

2D UTA HAGEN two days in a row?! she was good... but THAT GOOD?!

c'mon... a 9D BURR is much more commonly a rough edge or area remaining on the surface of a material that is REMOVED by sandpaper... or a "power-driven shop tool". (and, yes, i'm aware that there is a very specific rotary file used for smoothing rough edges left on a (mostly metallic) workpiece, but i'd bet that upwards of 90% readily understand the former usage, and less than 1% are remotely aware of the latter... well... til now... still, i suppose it's marginally better than the overused "hamilton foe" reference.)

103D "...RSTU..." to borrow a phrase from yesterday... OMIGOSH!

i say 11D MIN(ute)... you say 43D MINUTE... (in the same puzzle?) let's call the whole thing off!

34A MAZ (bill mazeroski) is perhaps most noted for his game 7, 9th-inning home run hit, which won the game and thus the 1960 world series for the pittsburg pirates 10-9 against the ny yanks.

there was so much more to mention... so catch the other blogs!

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in the "your mileage may vary" category:
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best clue of the day: 29a "unaided perception"

best answer of the day: 81D FOR SHAME

worst clue of the day: 107D "black pride cut, informally"

worst answer of the day: 57D CYCLO (now, i prob'ly just messed up here with that 'o' but if i didn't... yuck!)



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

1. pirate spirits 5. jarhead's rank: abbr. 8. presidential candidate born in hawaii 13. kids may take them to school in boxes 19. authors' list ender 20. corn product 21. japanese apples named for a mountain 22. like bollywood films 23. writer steel 25. al's impressions? 27. "what did bill do to earn this check, anyway?"? 29. unaided perception 30. sum in english 31. protected by law 32. "a la recherche du temps perdu" author 34. 1960 pirates world series hero, familiarly 35. vietnam's _____ dinh diem 36. first name in beauty products 37. natural riser 38. flirt 40. it might make you sick 42. bit 43. capital of lorraine 44. flavorful seed source 46. half of an athletic pair 48. bill's biography? 53. deutsch article 54. flair, e.g. 55. carnatic pieces 56. sequel's sequel 57. lonely trucker, perhaps 59. maestro toscanini 62. have a bawl 63. go postal 64. "and tonight's guest is ... ann!"? 68. old english bard 69. 2007 hall of fame inductee ripken 70. seconded 71. ages and ages 72. lou gehrig's disease: abbr. 73. andrea _____ 75. "_____ time" 76. ger. neighbor 77. dance like rush? 81. excites 85. "just _____!" 86. boring 87. many a fed. holiday 88. when doubled, a robin williams character's catchphrase 89. as a friend, in france 92. set of web pages 93. hawaiian staple vegetables 95. _____-x 96. chem. unit 97. rags' opposite 100. judd of"numb3rs" 101. mantel piece 102. like the era of highest sheet music sales 104. phoning phil and hanging up immediately? 106. don's parting words? 109. number revealer 110. disconcert 111. spinning 112. "helping doctors help patients" org. 113. singer braxton 114. comes after 115. laughs heartily 116. sunday delivery: abbr. 117. an nco 1. joe louis arena team 2. tony winner for "who's afraid of virginia woolf?" 3. frequent end of an anniversary toast 4. boo-boo 5. a synthetic 6. clooney or rooney 7. like baseball shoes 8. iced 9. power-driven shop tool 10. 1977 double-platinum steely dan album 11. clock div. 12. beginning of a noted political admonition 13. high _____ 14. perturbs 15. carded 16. the silver screen 17. what astrophysics and advanced calculus probably arent 18. reaction to pepper, maybe 24. overhang 26. mer filler 28. snicker syllable 32. red rose 33. triple-header, maybe 37. magazine exec in a robe, familiarly 39. _____ lilly 41. partner of kissed 43. wee 44. be a benefactor 45. ex-yankee hideki 47. "the galloping gourmet" host graham 48. riga resident 49. roman symbol of power 50. sheet material 51. yarn spinners 52. litter cry 54. qualifying round, informally 57. pedicab alternative 58. back 59. mushroom with an umbrella cap 60. wrestler flair famous for the figure four leglock 61. where angels come from 63. hot 65. word before primaire or secondaire 66. style with dark clothes and heavy eyeliner 67. look like a creep? 68. deplorable 73. pleasing 74. hoffman who once backed a pig for president 76. like human vision 78. cut-up 79. hgts. 80. ajman's home: abbr. 81. "tsk!" 82. arizona state flowers 83. perfect 84. what the puzzlemaker did to the name in each of this puzzle's theme answers? 87. position in a rhythm band 89. see 90-down 90. with 89-down, historic part of nw europe 91. some seal hunters 92. rabbi's instrument 93. material for a whitesmith 94. illustrator silverstein 98. they may come to une tete 99. a.f.l's partner 100. laughs heartily 103. set before v 104. action figure? 105. some "csi" figs. 107. black pride cut, informally 108. pbs supporter