dannmann's NYT crossword puzzle ramblings

SUNDAY, november 11, 2007
alan arbesfeld / will shortz
putting on some weight
ny times online premium crossword puzzle















difficulty factor: it was fair for a sunday; it was a most'ly fun pangram as well!



theme: putting on some weight: there was a TON o' stuff added to nine otherwise familiar expressions

22A AS GOOD AS NEW-TON
32A PAT-TON ON THE BACK
46A CAN-TON OPENER
55A CLUB CAR-TON
68A DON'T GIVE ME ANY LIP-TON
86A PRO-TON SHOP
96A SEX-TON SYMBOL
107A CHARLES-TON ATLAS
123A ROLLAWAY COT-TON


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in the "not necessarily explained just by the answer" category
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1A award for hanging PLAQUE

7A 18th-century venetian master who painted "adoration of the magi" TIEPOLO
20A how miracle workers walk ON WATER

21A it may be left holding the bag TEA POT

26A pet lovers' org. SPCA (Society for the Prevenion of Cruelty to Animals)

27A raid target ROACH (hmmm... is there no other reference for this answer...?)

29A actress scala GIA (born giovanna scoglio... think hot, green-eyed brunette who played the greek freedom fighter in 1961's 'guns of navarone'... years of alcohol dependency and a final overdose of drugs cut her down at 38)

30A spinning AREEL

40A zhou _____ EN LAI (i remember back when we all spelled his first name 'chou')

41A substitute (for) PINCH HIT

51A omelette ingredient OEUF (french spelling leads to french ingredient... egg : oeuf)

54A answer, briefly RSVP (french, Repondez-vous, Si'l Vous Plait "respond [you] if you please")

62. scot's topper TAM

76A absolut rival, for short STOLI (stolichnaya [sto-LEACH-nah-yah] a russian vodka produced from wheat and rye grains in tambov, a town in the black earth region of russia about 480km south-east of moscow)

77A thing often rolled over, in brief IRA (individual retirement accoint)

80A british rule in india RAJ (hindi, raj : literally means "rule") the british indian empire was the official name of the indian subcontinemt from 1858 to 1947)

90A lago composition AGUA (spanish, lago : lake; water : agua)

92A seagoing: abbr. NAUT (nautical)

94A small salmon COHO (a species of migrating fish that are also known as silver salmon or "silvers")

101A like some odes PINDARIC (of or relating to the style of Pindar [or Pindarus]who was a Greek lyric poet)

103A fabric with a repeated pattern TOILE (french [twall] an inexpensive sheer cloth material that sometimes carries a repeated pattern depicting a fairly complex scene, generally of a pastoral nature and most commonly used as window treatments. it can be called muslin in the u.s)

106A green RAW (as in new to something)

111A item often cloned IBM PC (international business machines personal computer)

133A schoolyard challenge MAKE ME!

1D square PLAZA (why did i fight for 'plumb' for so long?)

5D game with skip and reverse cards UNO

6D st. louis's historic _____ bridge EADS (the bridge - with an uncontested overall length of 6,442 feet [1,964 m] - is a combined road and railway bridge over the mississippi river at st. louis, named after area native, structural engineer, and inventor james buchanan eads)
9D meadow mother EWE
11D member of the 500-home run club OTT (melvin thomas "master melvin" ott)

12D "the joys of yiddish" author LEO ROSTEN
13D "smoking ______?" OR NON (i held on to 'not' too long here)

14D call 911, e.g. GET HELP

16D facing UP AGAINST

17D seattle cager, for short SONIC (seattle supersonics NBA team)

18D word with round or rump STEAK
21D modern music genre TECHNO (thank God that trend passed me by!)

28D give two fives for _____ A TEN

31D "well, _____-di-dah!" LAH (yay! it's finally spelled 'right')

33D spa offering, briefly TLC (tender lovin' care)

36D 1930s heavyweight champ BAER (maximilian adelbert baer colorful boxer perhaps better known for two things: his reckless all night drinking and carousing... and siring max baer, jr. - "jethro beaudine" of the beverly hillbillies!)

38D "hold on there!" WHOA ('wait' tugged at me for a place here)

47D eared seal OTARY
48D longoria of "desperate housewives" EVA
49D record letters RPM ('revolutions per minute'... as in 33 1/3 LP's or two-song 45's)

57D '60s hot spot NAM (viet nam)
59D party person POL (as in political party... and politician)

60D william tell's home URI (william tell was a legendary expert marksman with the crossbow who is said to have lived in the town of bürglen, in the canton of uri, switzerland in the early 1300's, and while his vast exploits are largely disputed especially with regard to historical fact, the bit about shooting an apple off his son's head has some merit in fact. an egotistical fella by the name of gessler was appointed new 'grand poohbah' of the region. one day, the elder tell passed by the town square without paying homage to this guy. he was arrested and received the choice of piercing said apple on the head of his son - and freedom - or else both would be summarily executed. well, it is documented that on november 18, 1307, tell split the fruit with a single bolt from his crossbow. when gessler scoffingly asked about the second bolt in his quiver, tell boldy answered that it was intended for gessler himself... if he had ended up killing his son. it seems gessler had no sense of humor and ordered tell bound and brought to his ship to be taken to gessler's castle at küssnacht. in a storm on lake lucerne, tell escaped, made his way to the castle and killed gessler with a single shot from that famed crossbow as the 'poohbah' arrived... thus sparking a rebellion, that eventually lead to the reformation of switerzerland. as paul harvey would say... "and now you know... the REST of the story"!)

61D charlemagne's father, dubbed "the short" PEPIN (or 'pippen')

65D rock and roll hall of fame designer PEI (ieoh ming pei, commonly known by his initials i. m. pei, is a world reknowned - and arguably the most successful of the 20th century - chinese american architect. his designs span the globe.67D peak in ne greece MT OSSA

69D prince in ezekiel GOG (the earliest known reference to "gog" and "magog" is in the bible, in the book of ezekiel, however it is not clear whether gog or magog are people or places, and different identifications have been made)

70D _____ de france ILE

71D joe pesci title role VINNY ('my cousin vinny')

72D dada pioneer ARP (hans/jean arp was a german-french sculptor, painter, poet and abstract artist in other media such as torn and pasted paper. many people believe that he was born hans, and later changed his name to jean, but this is not exactly the case. for reasons not clear to me, at the end of world war I, french law determined that his name become jean.

75D watts at the movies NAOMI (naomi ellen watts is an english actrtess)
79D _____ and span (cleanser) SPIC
80D coll. dorm figures RA's (resident advisors)

84D small part CAMEO ROLE

85D folgers alternative YUBAN

89D biography subtitled "living in the shadows" OONA (as in oona chaplin... comic great charlie's wife)

93D "l'shana _____" (rosh hashanah greeting) TOVA (or tovah)

97D garage litter OIL CANS

98D marlins' div. NL EAST

99D cong. period SESS (session)

100D court ruling? LET (on a tennis court... the rule states, "if, upon a serve, the ball hits the net cord but lands in the service court, this is a let service, which is void and the serve is replayed" holy crap... it's a freakin' "do-over")

102D it makes madd mad DWI (driving while intoxicated)

107D singer with xavier cugat CHARO (born maría del rosario pilar martínez molina baeza de rasten is known for her zany stage presence and provocative outfits, and is singer, dancer, comedian, actress and classical guitarist)

109D a.c.c. team, informally TERPS (college sport's maryland terrapins)

112D it's a dyeing art BATIK (an indonesian-malay word that has come to be used as a generic term which refers to the process of dyeing fabric by making use of a resist technique; covering areas of cloth with a dye-resistant substance [wax is most comon] to prevent them absorbing colors. much of the popularity of batik can be tied to the fact that the batik technique offers immense possibilities for artistic freedom as patterns are applied by actual drawing rather than by weaving with thread. another factor in its popularity is the fact that it is so durable. the colors in batik are much more resistant to wear than those of painted or printed fabrics because the cloth is completely immersed in dye and the areas not protected by resist are allowed to absorb hues to the extent that the colors will not easily fade)
113D photofinish MATTE

114D tourney type PRO-AM

127D _____ trial basis ON A


==============================
in the "your mileage may vary" category:
==============================

best clue of the day: 88D unable to pass the bar?
best answer of the day: 82D JUXTAPOSE
worst clue of the day: 45. when repeated, a reproach
worst answer of the day: 91D -ATOR



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. award for hanging 7. 18th-century venetian master who painted "adoration of the magi" 14. magnetic induction unit 19. _____ beach, calif. 20. how miracle workers walk 21. it may be left holding the bag 22. up to top physics standards? 24. flammable gas 25. time, in munich 26. pet lovers' org. 27. raid target 29. actress scala 30. spinning 32. recumbent w.w. ii general? 37. punching tool 39. perry of fashion 40. zhou _____ 41. substitute (for) 46. first game of a chinese double-header? 50. inkling 51. omelette ingredient 53. yard units 54. answer, briefly 55. container for an iron or wedge? 58. grab 62. scot's topper 63. prefix with comic 64. ludacris's music 66. "air music" composer, 1974 68. "i'm not interested in having tea!"? 76. absolut rival, for short 77. thing often rolled over, in brief 78. tiny amounts 80. british rule in india 83. bureau 86. where to pick up nuclear supplies? 90. lago composition 92. seagoing: abbr. 94. small salmon 95. big rig 96. crucifix? 101. like some odes 103. fabric with a repeated pattern 104. house overhang 106. green 107. traveler's aid in south carolina? 111. item often cloned 116. with it 117. burglar's advance man, maybe 118. goes (for) 120. bern's river 121. bakery lures 123. easily transportable plantation product? 128. take umbrage at 129. lawyer, at court 130. writers shreve and brookner 131. "golden boy" playwright 132. wharf locale 133. schoolyard challenge 1. square 2. surgical beam producer 3. texas a & m athlete 4. nasdaq info 5. game with skip and reverse cards 6. st. louis's historic _____ bridge 7. puccini classic 8. present at birth 9. meadow mother 10. pussyfoot 11. member of the 500-home run club 12. "the joys of yiddish" author 13. "smoking ______?" 14. call 911, e.g. 15. sound of satisfaction 16. facing 17. seattle cager, for short 18. word with round or rump 21. modern music genre 23. makeup kit item 28. give two fives for _____ 31. "well, _____-di-dah!" 33. spa offering, briefly 34. patron saint of norway 35. low cards in pinochle 36. 1930s heavyweight champ 38. "hold on there!" 41. brief shots? 42. killed time 43. prefix with surgery 44. mountain retreats 45. when repeated, a reproach 47. eared seal 48. longoria of "desperate housewives" 49. record letters 52. fairway cry 56. baked, in bologna 57. '60s hot spot 59. party person 60. william tell's home 61. charlemagne's father, dubbed "the short" 65. rock and roll hall of fame designer 67. peak in ne greece 69. prince in ezekiel 70. _____ de france 71. joe pesci title role 72. dada pioneer 73. figure in a bust 74. questionnaire category 75. watts at the movies 79. _____ and span (cleanser) 80. coll. dorm figures 81. questionnaire info 82. place together 84. small part 85. folgers alternative 87. alley _____ 88. unable to pass the bar? 89. biography subtitled "living in the shadows" 91. suffix with liquid or fabric 93. "l'shana _____" (rosh hashanah greeting) 97. garage litter 98. marlins' div. 99. cong. period 100. court ruling? 102. it makes madd mad 105. not as busy 107. singer with xavier cugat 108. brought on board 109. a.c.c. team, informally 110. spaced out 112. it's a dyeing art 113. photofinish 114. tourney type 115. perfume, in a way 119. con game 122. ran into 124. shepherd's locale 125. child seat? 126. brouhaha 127. _____ trial basis