dannmann's NYT crossword puzzle ramblings

friday, november 02, 2007
barry c. silk / will shortz
ny times online premium crossword puzzle

















difficulty factor: four outta five band-aids! this was tough!

theme: none

it's been a few days since i've elaborated upon the puzzle, but i think i'm back... and for a great pangram, no less!

the term 3D TENONER is most often used to describe a woodworker who joins wood whereby the end of one of two pieces (the tenon) is cut to fit a hole (the mortise) made in the other. carpenters, on the other hand, rarely use this more time-consuming, painstaking procedure these days.

i always like it when musicians drop by for a visit. today is no exception! 1A FATS WALLER (born thomas wright waller) was an influential and prolific jazz pianist and writer, who had his heyday in the 1920's and 30's. the 41D MONKEES (davy jones, micky dolenz, peter tork, and michael nesmith) were actors who were hired to play musicians, and eventually became proficient enough to play their instruments for live appearances, but not on any of their early slickly produced albums, and were teen idols of the late 1960's. the beach boys hit the streets runnin' in 1963 with 15A I GET AROUND, and through various incarnations are still around today.

my curiosity with the 69A DESERT ROSE prompted me to call my friend's wife who struggles to "train" one. typically they grow 4 to 6 feet in the wild, but the art of bonsai - the singular and plural spelling - takes the potted plant to an artistic level, carefully attending to every detail of its limited growth and shape through meticulous pruning - and even demanding that branches bend into desired directions. with lotsa sun and little water it will flower in the late spring/early summer even in new york!




my last point of focus today is dick and 28A JANE (and baby sister sally, spot the dog, and mother and father) who came upon the elementary school scene in the1930's, and were all but gone just as i was introduced to them in the early to mid 60's...

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in the "not necessarily explained just by the answer" category
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• 20A requests for developers: abbr. ENLS (photographic developers might provide ENLargementS upon request)
• 22A some cabbage FINS ('cabbage' is slang for american money in general; 'fins', five dollar bills)
• 31A materials used as inert paint fillers SILEXES (a rare term - even in the industry - used to describe finely ground silicates used as pigments, not fillers)
• 43A premium chargers, briefly HMOS (health maintenance organizations; a managed care groug of doctors, hospitals, labs, etc. that contract together to cut costs... for them?!)
• 47A what "y" might become IES (english grammar 'rule')
• 53A 19th-century territorial capital SITKA (in alaska)
• 54A organs are located in it: abbr. ANAT (anatomy)
• 55A block head? AUCTIONEER (from the term 'on the auction block')
• 59A due and sei OTTO (italian: two + six = eight)
• 4D they're located on organs STOPS (a 'stop' is the controlling part of a big, [think church] pipe organ which allows for the movement - or more specifically the lack thereof - of pressurized air to a set - or section - of its pipes. as it's default position is 'stop' it should be called a 'go'!)
• 6D it may come after you ARE (c'mon... THAT's reachin' a whole bunch! lotsa things can come after 'you')
• 8D african city of 2.5+ million founded by the portuguese LUANDA (in angola)
• 10D food figs. RDAS (from the u.s. fda recommended daily allowances)
• 14D wilde things? SATIRES (irish satirist oscar wilde [born oscar fingal o'flahertie wills wilde] wrote many scathing plays, novels, short stories, and poems in the late 1800's.)
• 49D challenge for a shortstop LINER (slang for 'line drive' a sharply hit ball in the infield.)
• 51D target of heavy w.w. II bombing, 1944 ST. LO (the town name 'Saint-Lô' comes from Saint Lauda, a 6th century religious figure. it was almost totally destroyed in world war II. today it is reknowned for the award winning chopped liver produced there.)
• 56D discount designation: abbr. IRR (irregular)

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in the "your mileage may vary" category:
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best clue of the day: "not do the rite thing?"... cute

best answer of the day: 37D LOST ART... so very true...

worst clue of the day: 40D "like some surgery"... 'some' alludes to something fairly common... fetal operations are still comparatively quite rare, right?

worst answer of the day: 20A ENLS... what???



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. he had a hit with "the joint is jumpin'!" FATS WALLER (born thomas wright waller) 11. signs of neglect WEBS 15. first #1 hit by the beach boys I GET AROUND 16. like the sea AQUA 17. city on the transcontinental railroad RENO NEVADA 18. some people have it for life LUST 19. not do the rite thing? ELOPE 20. requests for developers: abbr. ENLS (???)21. taylor of "mystic pizza" LILI 22. some cabbage FINS (slang for american five dollar bills)23. dwell BIDE 24. much FAR25. with 52- and 39-across, gradually ONE... 26. potentate DYNAST 28. one of a primer pair JANE (dick and jane... elementary readers) 29. they're not originals XEROXES 31. materials used as inert paint fillers SILEXES (a rarely used term used to describe finely ground silicates used as pigments)33. best people WIN 34. el relative LOS 35. whole slew of ZILLION39. see 25-across ...AT A TIME 43. premium chargers, briefly HMOS (health maintenance organizations) 44. like a well-maintained lawn WEEDED 46. discriminatory leader? NON 47. what "y" might become IES 48. driver on a ranch PROD 49. it's found in a chest LUNG 50. fermentation locations VATS 52. see 25-across ...STEP... 53. 19th-century territorial capital SITKA (in alaska)54. organs are located in it: abbr. ANAT (anatomy) 55. block head? AUCTIONEER 57. delivery possibility GIRL 58. committed a sports no-no INTERFERED 59. due and sei OTTO (italian: two + six = eight) 60. succulent african shrub popular as a bonsai DESERT ROSE 1. internet explorer alternative FIREFOX 2. facial feature, later in life AGE LINE 3. carpenter, at times TENONER (more likely used by woodworkers as a way to join wood whereby the end of one of two pieces is cut to fit the hole made in the other) 4. they're located on organs STOPS (???) 5. draw to a close WANE 6. it may come after you ARE (c'mon... THAT's reachin' a whole bunch!) 7. hippie happenings LOVE-INS 8. african city of 2.5+ million founded by the portuguese LUANDA (in angola) 9. infinite ENDLESS 10. food figs. RDAS (recommended daily allowances) 11. hanging setting WALL 12. big name in credit reports EQUIFAX 13. greyhounds may run in it BUS LANE 14. wilde things? SATIRES 23. "see ya!" BYE NOW 26. year of st. genevieve's death DXII (512 AD)27. pitching TILTED 28. fun JEST 30. they're known for head-turning OWLS 32. basketful LOAD 35. fictional doctor ZHIVAGO 36. "this is no joke!" I MEAN IT 37. letter writing, some say LOST ART 38. it was first observed in 1846 NEPTUNE 39. one taken in ADOPTEE 40. like some surgery IN UTERO 41. group that starred in the 1968 film "head," with "the" MONKEES 42. match-starting cry EN GARDE 45. establishes ERECTS 49. challenge for a shortstop LINER (line drive) 51. target of heavy w.w. II bombing, 1944 ST. LO 52. "that _____ ..." SAID 53. comfortable SOFT 56. discount designation: abbr. IRR (irregular)