dannmann's NYT crossword puzzle ramblings

saturday, november 03, 2007
brad wilber / will shortz
ny times online premium crossword puzzle















difficulty factor: two outta five band-sids today, a few stumbles.


theme: none

this thing was 40A LOADED with weak, far-fetched and/or otherwise groan-inducing clues. and while not terribly difficult, it was not nearly as inspired or pleasureable as it could have been.

only one picture today... an homage to the very best 38A LOIS LANE ever... teri hatcher


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in the "not necessarily explained just by the answer" category
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• 15A hammer wielder AUCTIONEER yuck! double yuck!! two days in a row?! p-freakin'-u


• 23A "rhapsodie norvegienne" composer LALO schifrin (born boris claudio schifrin, argentine pianist and composer who has written more than 100 scores for films, television and video games, among them the "burning fuse" theme for mission impossible)


• 31A century-ending middle ages year MCC (that's just lame)


• 32A modern organizers, briefly PDA'S (personal digital assistant: handheld computer)


• 35A record finish? -EST (as in fastEST, greatEST, longEST, etc)


• 36A fail to be AREN'T (yuck!)


• 37A food also called mostaccioli PENNE (italian: feather/quill; penne pasta pieces have a cylindrical shape and diagonally cut ends. they are produced in two variants: "penne lisce" (smooth) [sometimes called mostaccioli] and "penne rigate" (ridged)


• 45A u.s.c.g. rank CPO (united states coast guard; CHIEF PETTY OFFICER)


• 48A "madama butterfly" wear OBIS (ornamental japanese sash worn around the waist)


• 4D where folks go off and on: abbr. STA (station, shouldn't that be 'get'?!)


• 5D "view from the summit" memoirist HILLARY (not the blonde chick, australian mountaineer adventurist sir edmund percival hillary)


• 8D people may get them before going to coll. GEDS (general equivilancy diplomas)


• 24D earth-shattering activity? SKEET (the 'pigeons' shot are earthenware)


• 25D casbah fugitive of french film PEPE LE MOKO (pépé le moko is a 1937 film that depicts the travails of the title character, who is on the lam from the police hiding in a casbah in algiers. 'moko' is slang for a man from marseilles)


• 26D noted diary words AND SO TO BED (first made popular in the diaries of londoner samuel pepys in the 17th century)


• 50D sch. in kingston URI (university of rhode island)

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in the "your mileage may vary" category:
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best clue of the day:
best answer of the day:
worst clue of the day:
worst answer of the day:



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. sleuthing aid FLASHLIGHT 11. early education ABC's 15. hammer wielder AUXTIONEER 16. bangkok currency BAHT 17. youtube phenomenon VIRAL VIDEO 18. _ witness STAR 19. suffix with polymer ASE 20. walk-on parts? LEGS 21. safari hazard TSE TSE 23. "rhapsodie norvegienne" composer LALO schifrin 24. co-creator of hulk and thor STAN LEE 25. napoleon, e.g. PASTRY 28. allergist's procedure SKIN YEST 29. lexicon listing ENTRY 30. relative of homespun TWEED 31. century-ending middle ages year MCC 32. modern organizers, briefly PDA'S 33. judge, e.g. TRIER 34. skittish wildlife DEER 35. record finish? -EST 36. fail to be AREN'T 37. food also called mostaccioli PENNE 38. fictional pulitzer-winning journalist in a 2006 film LOIS LANE 40. didnt fizzle LASTED 41. aquatinting acid ETCHANT 42. succeed WORK 43. grinders MOLARS 44. one might be kidding GOAT 45. u.s.c.g. rank CPO 48. "madama butterfly" wear OBIS 49. much-anticipated paris debut of 1992 EURO DISNEY 52. colleague of 38-across KENT 53. place for trophies at an awards luncheon PRIZE TABLE 54. concert venues ODEA 55. 1971 elton john song TINY DANCER 1. kind of bean FAVA 2. see 51-down LUIS 3. plot segment ACRE 4. where folks go off and on: abbr. STA 5. "view from the summit" memoirist HILLARY 6. swell LOVELY 7. _ lopez de loyola, founder of the society of jesus INIGO 8. people may get them before going to coll. GEDS 9. part of a giggle HEE 10. hockey hall-of-famer bryan TROTTIER 11. not in the picture ABSENT 12. archer's post BATTLEMEMT 13. action thriller staple CHASE SCENE 14. homey's acceptance STREET CRED 22. innards of some clocks SAND 23. posts: abbr. LTRS (letters) 24. earth-shattering activity? SKEET 25. casbah fugitive of french film PEPE LE MOKO 26. noted diary words AND SO TO BED 27. alternative to a rip cord STATIC LINE 28. coarse type SWINE 30. _ canal (connector of lakes ontario and huron) TRENT 33. it intersects the nave TRANSEPT 34. secretary, e.g. DESK 36. garden no-no, now ALAR 37. one of six pieces by bach PARTITA 39. daisy variety SHASTA 40. like some questions LOADED 42. vertiginous WOOZY 44. wink accompanier GRIN 45. "power lunch" channel CNBC 46. legendary kicker PELE 47. legal hearing OYER 50. sch. in kingston URI 51. with 2-down, seat of costilla county, colo. SAN