dannmann's NYT crossword puzzle ramblings

wednesday, october 17, 2007
paula gamache / will shortz















difficulty factor: to put it bluntly, it was not very difficult at all - and i didn't feel like i was much "in the zone" at all! dare i say it?! i was nodding off... it was not as captivating, imaginative or challenging as many recent puzzles.

theme: just imagine a crafty french person putting an as of yet unnamed island mass exactly four letters into in your otherwise fairly common expression... well, you'd have today's puzzle!

• 17A MISS(ILE) UNIVERSE
• 26A TEXT(ILE) MESSAGE
• 44A CAST(ILE) IRON PAN
• 56A HOST(ILE) COMPUTER
  

with the theme figured out in mere moments (i happened to ask my wife what was peculiar about 17A MISSILE UNIVERSE, and she responded, "i didn't hear the first part... what did you say about miss universe? bingo!) the rest was coastin' downhill all the way.

we have a very wide spectrum of visitors today... from the past and present... from intellectual to fictional... from those with feet firmly planted, to those reachin' for the stars... radio, tv, music, and sport. it's good t' see you all!


ubercrooner melvin howard "mel" 1A TORME, singer (and resent visitor) 40A TINA turner. melvin thomas "mel" & nathan edward "ed" are indeed two 24D OTTS.


fictional 2D OPIE griffith (director, writer, producer, actor ron howard), disgraced radio talk show/shock jock 52D ICON john donald "don" 7D IMUS, jr., tv journalist 28D LESLEY r. stahl, and olde tyme football great yelberton abraham 37D "Y.A." TITTLE.


astronaut and engineer 31D GUION "guy" bluford, jr., writer 39D EDNA ferber, french novelist, essayist, and critic valentin louis georges eugène marcel 46D PROUST, and lady 50D OONA o'neill chaplin.

answer to yesterday's quiz bonus: badge #714

in the "your mileage may vary" category:

best clue of the day: 25D "relative key of c major"... it's just the musician in me, i suppose.

best answer of the day: 14A OPIUM... for me, it worked BIG time.

worst clue of the day: 53D "stupid me"... just does not equal OOPS... now with "clumsy me" we might be on t' somethin'!

worst answer of the day: 27D EDENS... sorry, folks, for me there's ony one eden, so it can't be pluralized.


keep on keepin' on...


dann


ps this took so long to post for numerous reason... many of which were out of my control. i may even explain some of them later...