dannmann's NYT crossword puzzle ramblings

saturday, november 10, 2007
dana motley / will shortz
ny times online premium crossword puzzle















difficulty factor: three outta five band-aids; this was a real "thinker"... i set it down, got some 'brain food' (breyers vanilla ice cream) came back to and it was easier... no, it WAS... everything's better after ice cream, 26D IS IT NOT?

theme: none

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first, i wanna thank birdsong8 for catchin' a typo @ 8:44 this am... i was in a hurry before setting up the blog (so, i didn't proofread it very closely) i saw 16A EDIT in the grid and didn't look back or think twice about it... even though i was sure i'd hit the friggin' 'x' key just below that 'd' when i was fillin' it in... maybe... nah, maybe not... anyway thanks bird! you darn sure earned an "eagle-eye merit badge" t'day!
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in the "not necessarily explained just by the answer" category

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6A college major, briefly ECON (economics)

15A "got it" AH SO

16A it's often marked with a number EXIT

17A knee problem GRASS STAIN
23A leon who won both a pulitzer and a national book award in 1963 EDEL (american literary critic and biographer [esp. of henry james])

25A symbols of freshness DAISIES ("fresh as a daisy...")
27A rogers hornsby's nickname, with "the" RAJAH
31A senior ctr.? SCH (school, as in high school senior)

34A before analysis, after "a" PRIORI (latin, prior to the facts)

41A it's been put on before RE-RUN

42A ammunition carrier on wheels CAISSON (a caisson is a simple but sturdy two-wheeled cart designed to carry munitions, quit often it was precededby a 'limber', another two-wheeled cart used to support a caisson or an artillery piece, allowing either to be towed by horse)

46A target of a rabbit punch NAPE (of the neck)

52A _____ francese ALLE (italian, "to the french')

54A soft, high-fiber dish MASHED PEAS (dammit, mister, you're not leaving this table until...)

56A red-bellied trout CHAR

58A beehive division CASTE (as in social division... queen, worker, and drone)

59A firm fear LOSS

60A "saint joan" playwright SHAW (irish playwright george bernard shaw dramatized the life of the newly sainted joan d' arc in 1923)
61A fisherman's basket CREEL
1D maker of a historic touchdown EAGLE (as in lunar touchdown... apollo 11 carried neil alden armstrong, michael collins and edwin eugene 'buzz' aldrin, jr. on the first manned mission to land on the moon on july 20, 1969. commander armstrong's first words after landing were, "houston, tranquility base here. the eagle has landed.")
3D feature of many a big do TEASED HAIR
4D neighbor of monterey park, briefly EAST L.A.
7D had a causerie CHATTED (from the french causer 'to talk', an informal discussion or chat, especially of an intellectual nature)

8D the sacred bull apis was his embodiment OSIRIS (an apis calf was black with a white diamond on its forehead, an image of an eagle on its back, double the number of hairs on its tail, and the sign of a scarab under its tongue, and is believed to hold the actual spirit of osiris. duh... because it is supposed to have been re-incarnated... there could only one apis at a time. the frenzied search for a replacement bull would begin with the death of the current one. the new apis was transported to memphis on a boat built and decorated specifically for the purpose)
9D they're proscribed NO-NO'S (proscribed : forbidden)
12D fusilli alternative ZITI (ziti is a hollow tube pasta - of varying widths, and usually with diagonal cuts... though many call it a spiral, fusilli is actually a helix)
13D form of the french "to be" ETES (french, vous êtes 'you are')

29D some matériel ARMS

30D h.s. subject HIST (history)

32D word preceding various colors CODE (code red : emergency; code blue : bring the crash cart, stat!)

34D beat PULSATE (as in heartbeat)

39D game derived from 500 rummy CANASTA (canasta is a card game in which the object is to create matching 'melds' of cards of the same rank and then go out by playing or discarding all the cards in your hand. in canasta, unlike other rummy games making a seven-card match/meld (a 'canasta) gives the player a whopping bonus! , and the number of canastas made usually decides the game. also, when a player picks up cards from the discard pile, he picks up all of 'em - not just the top one!)

42D light carriage with a folding top CALASH (from french "calèche" a two-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle with a seat for the driver on the splash-board)
43D even ON A PAR

45D mexican uncle? NO MAS (us in "say uncle or i'll..." in the seventh round on november 25, 1980 panamanian boxer roberto "fists of stone" duran was being taunted by american "sugar" ray leonard. leonard humiliated the muy macho duran by winding up his right hand, as if to throw a bolo punch, and then surprised duran with a left jab in his face. with a scant 16 seconds left in the next round duran had had enough. he told the referee, "no mas, no mas." ["no more, no more"] leonard's earlier loss had been vindicated. leonard said afterwards, "to make a man quit - to make a roberto duran quit, was better than knocking him out." duran, on the other hand was not nearly as enthused... first he whined about being tricked into fighting: "leonard's people outsmarted my people, they knew i was going to party hard after the [first match] win. they outsmarted us by having the rematch so soon after the first fight. i had a difficult time making the weight. i was really upset at the management team." then he stated flatly "i never said 'no mas', how could f***in' [television broadcaster] howard cosell hear what i was saying, he was on the other side of the ring.")
48D oil holder EASEL (as in oil painting)
49D halite, chemically NA CL (NaCl : sodium chloride : salt)

51D present occasion, informally X-MAS (boy, i hate that...)

55D multiple of LXX DCC (70... times 10... 700)

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in the "your mileage may vary" category:
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best clue of the day: 1D maker of a historic touchdown... deliciously misleading
best answer of the day: 45D NO MAS
worst clue of the day: 33D garage alternative... alternative?! go ahead, try t' park you car in one... now with "garage adjunct" you're onto somethin'
worst answer of the day: 40A R-S-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. vegetable oil, e.g. 6. college major, briefly 10. fog 14. up 15. "got it" 16. it's often marked with a number 17. knee problem 19. very small serving 20. "... _____ faith turn to despair": romeo 21. capital, usually 23. leon who won both a pulitzer and a national book award in 1963 24. smith, e.g. 25. symbols of freshness 27. rogers hornsby's nickname, with "the" 31. senior ctr.? 33. garage alternative 34. before analysis, after "a" 35. hangers-on 37. select groups 38. other drivers (never you, of course) 39. following group 40. character lineup 41. it's been put on before 42. ammunition carrier on wheels 44. windfall 46. target of a rabbit punch 49. like y, e.g. 52. _____ francese 53. crown 54. soft, high-fiber dish 56. red-bellied trout 57. topic lead-in 58. beehive division 59. firm fear 60. "saint joan" playwright 61. fisherman's basket 1. maker of a historic touchdown 2. lota 3. feature of many a big do 4. neighbor of monterey park, briefly 5. atlas info: abbr. 6. filling stations? 7. had a causerie 8. the sacred bull apis was his embodiment 9. they're proscribed 10. jaunty 11. botanist's angle 12. fusilli alternative 13. form of the french "to be" 18. #1 best sellers 22. apes 26. "right?" 28. some cliched writing 29. some materiel 30. h.s. subject 31. do something emotionally to 32. word preceding various colors 34. beat 36. they have nagging questions 37. it has valuable questions 39. game derived from 500 rummy 42. light carriage with a folding top 43. even 45. mexican uncle? 47. part of the earth's outer layer 48. oil holder 49. halite, chemically 50. be reminiscent of 51. present occasion, informally 55. multiple of lxx