dannmann's NYT crossword puzzle ramblings

SUNDAY, november 18, 2007
patrick berry / will shortz
world pay
ny times online premium crossword puzzle















dpw difficulty factor: there was absolute balance between a light hearted "son of a gun!" and the more heavy "sonuvabee"


theme: world pay: well, if the theme was rephrased to "word play" from "world pay" then you've got the theme in a nutshell: eleven (11) otherwise fairly common expressions are altered by moving the letter "l" in them!

23A FLEE SPITTERS (fee splitters)
25A TO SLAY THE EAST (to say the least)
15D SEEPING SLICKNESS (sleeping sickness)
37A VINY SLIDING (vinyl siding)
56A FOP LOVER (flop over)
66A STUDLY HAL (study hall)
78A COD CULTS (cold cuts)
92A HALVE THE GAL (have the gall)
36D COAT OF MANLY COORS (coat of many colors)
107A PACE YOUR BELTS (place your bets)
113A PLOTTED PANTS (potted plants)


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in the "notes of record" category
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i really enjoyed the ride on this one... very cleverly crafted, and interestingly clued... and eleven... count 'em... eleven fantastic themed answers! a darn fine puzzle! thank you patrick!


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in the "not necessarily explained just by the answer" category ===============================================

8A "_____ at large," 2003 fox sitcom WANDA (wanda sykes)

13A el _____ (peruvian volcano) MISTI

18A like kashmir rugs ORIENTAL22A nebraska town, named after an indian tribe, featured in "lonesome dove" OGALLALA (a horible anglo bastardization of the oglala ["to scatter one's own" in siouan] sioux, who see themselves primarily as part of the lakota people)

27A leading the field ON TOP

28A _____ admin (computer techie, for short) SYS (system administrator)

29A revolution-era loyalist TORY

42A much of anais nin's work EROTICA (anaïs nin was a french-born author of mixed descent who became famous for her published journals, which span more than sixty years, beginning when she was eleven years old and ending shortly before her death. anaïs is also famous for her erotica, which not only proves sensual, but also acts as a study of sexuality in its perfection and flaws)

45A quite often A LOT

46A one of the five stages of grief ANGER (1. denial and isolation... at first, we tend to deny the loss has taken place, and may withdraw from our usual social contacts. this stage may just last a few moments, or maybe longer; 2. anger... the grieving person may then be furious at the person who inflicted the hurt (even if she's dead) - or at the world - for letting it happen. he may be angry with himself for letting the event take place, even if, realistically, nothing could have stopped it; 3. bargaining... now the grieving person may make bargains with God, asking, "if i do this, will you take away the loss?"... 4. depression... the person feels numb, although anger and sadness may remain underneath... 5. acceptance... this is when the anger, sadness and mourning have tapered off. the person simply accepts the reality of the loss)

49A _____ de guerre NOM (french 'name of/for war"... a fictitious name used when the person performs a particular social role and desires to be anonymous)

50A oil company in a 1999 merger MOBIL (the $80 million deal created exxon mobil corp. ands created the biggest of the three "supermajors" that includes #2 Anglo-Dutch venture Royal Dutch/Shell and #3 U.K.-based BP Amoco, which awaits ftc approval for its purchase of U.S.-based Atlantic Richfield)

53A technique involving thickly applied paint IMPASTO (italian, "dough" or "mixture"... a technique used in painting, whereby paint is laid on an area of the surface - or the entire canvas - very thickly, usually thickly enough that the brush or painting-knife strokes and mixing are plainly visible making the painy appear to be coming out of the canvas)

58A moved two chessmen in one turn CASTLED (castling is a special circumstance in chess involving a player's king and one of his two rooks whereby the king moves two empty squares towards a rook, and said rook moves onto the square over which the king has just crossed. castling is permissible only if neither the king nor the chosen rook have ever moved, the spaces between them are vacant, and the king is not moving "out of", "through" or (duh) "into" check)

59A early collaborator with eastwood LEONE (sergio leone the famed director of "spaghetti westerns")

72A creditor's collection IOU'S

73A some hieroglyphic characters ANKHS

76A at great length ON AND ON

83A you might hear it going up and down MUSAK (as in that stuff y' hear in an elevator)

85A tridactyl bird EMU

87A market pessimist BEAR (as in the stock market)

89A beguiles LEADS ON

99A 1978 disco hit YMCA (by the village people)

103A bass part FIN (as in the fish)

105A mr. bean ORSON (boy, i spent a lotta time tryin' t' recall that wacky british guy's name!)

116A barograph reading PRESSURE (the barograph measures... barometric pressure)

117A dvd box set, possibly SERIES

118A "ready _____ ..." OR NOT (...here i come!)

119A flat remover TIRE IRON

120A boxed-off map section INSET

121A ladies and gentlemen of the jury PEERS

122A producer of the keystone cops films SENNETT (a series of silent film comedies featuring an incompetent group of policemen produced by mack sennett from 1912 to 1917)

2D ship launched from iolcus ARGO (as in jason and the argo-nauts)

4D dresses down YELLS AT

5D tabletop decoration INLAY

6D good news for some prisoners STAYS (as in 'stays of execution', which delayed/suspended death sentences)

7D parade-ground command HALT (maybe on a german parade ground!?)

14D following behind IN TOW

17D schedule-keeping org. IRS (internal revenue service... schedule 1040, etc)

19D christine of "chicago hope" LAHTI

24D "man is by nature a _____ animal": aristotle POLITICAL

47D lane on broadway NATHAN

57D "_____ dance" (david bowie album) LET'S

63D pitts of silent film ZASU (zasu pitts was an American actress who first starred in many silent dramas; later, she switched to comedy sound films)

66D unable to see much SAND BLIND

67D little green man YODA

68D figure skater cohen SASHA

70D popular sleep aid UNISOM

71D "excusez-_____!" MOI (french, "excuse me")

74D words mouthed to a camera HI MOM

77D telegraphy signal DASH (not by folks who know what they're doin'! to them, they symbols and names are: '_' = 'dah' and '.' = 'dit')

79D take up the entire sofa LOLL (yes, this is where "lolly-gaggin' around" comes from!)

83D ginnie _____ MAE (government national mortgage association or gnma)

91A powell's "the thin man" co-star LOY (myrna loy [born myrna adele williams] most famous for "the thin man" movie series with william powell)

and...

88D iconic anne baxter role EVE ("all bout eve" is a 1950 classic black 'n' white film starring bette davis as margo channing, an intelligent and highly esteemed but aging broadway actress. anne baxter in the title role poses as a sweet young fan who slowly works her way into margo's life, becoming her trusted assistant. eventually it becomes apparant that eve is hell-bent to displace margo and steal everything she has, including her boyfriend and career)

90D gets one's food on a tray, say DINES IN

94D with 52-down, "symphonic fantastique" composer HECTOR BERLIOZ

103D french business partner, maybe FRERE ("brother")

104D "peer gynt" playwright IBSEN (peer gynt is a play in five acts by norwegian henrik ibsen and is taken as complementary to a previous play "brand". in the former play, the hero is a man of indomitable will; in the latter, he is a man almost without it. in peer gynt, ibsen satirized the weaknesses of the norwegian people)

109D author of "trinity" URIS (leon uris)

113D esp, remote viewing, and such PSI (psi is a term for parapsychological phenomena derived from 'psi' the twenty-third letter of the greek alphabet maeaning "mind, soul")

114D hall-of-famer dawson LEN (football great from kansas city chiefs)

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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:
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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
1A immature 8A "_____ at large," 2003 fox sitcom 13A el _____ (peruvian volcano) 18A like kashmir rugs 20A for all to hear 21A one-dimensional 22A nebraska town, named after an indian tribe, featured in "lonesome dove" 23A run away from chewing-tobacco users? 25A alexander the great's ambition? 27A leading the field 28A _____ admin (computer techie, for short) 29A revolution-era loyalist 30A black and tan ingredient 31A mental acuity 34A glinting flecks in granite 37A problem for a sweaty-handed tarzan? 41A trawler's trailer 42A much of anais nin's work 45A quite often 46A one of the five stages of grief 48A leaves in hot water 49A _____ de guerre 50A oil company in a 1999 merger 53A technique involving thickly applied paint 55A crumb carrier 56A one who's crazy for a sharp-dressed man? 58A moved two chessmen in one turn 59A early collaborator with eastwood 61A islamic chieftain 62A drug _____ 64A bring on board 65A stole, perhaps 66A shakespearean prince who's handsome and muscular? 68A membranous structure 69A sportswear brand 71A weekly service 72A creditor's collection 73A some hieroglyphic characters 76A at great length 78A fish-worshiping groups? 81A insect egg 82A novelist jamaica _____ 83A you might hear it going up and down 84A backup singer's syllable 85A tridactyl bird 86A scotland's summer _____ 87A market pessimist 89A beguiles 91A powell's "the thin man" co-star 92A what a magician might do with a big saw? 98A theories 99A 1978 disco hit 101A say what isnt so 102A "good gracious!" 103A bass part 105A mr. bean 107A how to avoid getting tipsy on hard liquor? 113A designed jeans? 116A barograph reading 117A dvd box set, possibly 118A "ready _____ ..." 119A flat remover 120A boxed-off map section 121A ladies and gentlemen of the jury 122A producer of the keystone cops films 1D part offirefighter attire 2D ship launched from iolcus (lolcus) 3D favoritism 4D dresses down 5D tabletop decoration 6D good news for some prisoners 7D parade-ground command 8D thin and crisp 9D soothes 10D they're not positive 11D performance that takes a second 12D some web site banners 13D paw 14D following behind 15D oil spill? 16D sealant 17D schedule-keeping org. 19D christine of "chicago hope" 21D eton collar material 24D "man is by nature a _____ animal": aristotle 26D long, long time 30D excitement 32D show signs of falling 33D took a big step 34D bad stuff to microwave 35D one of the forsytes in "the forsyte saga" 36D macho beer-drinker's outerwear? 37D seductress 38D place to hole up 39D not feeling 100 percent 40D breaks 43D gather 44D sweet talk 47D lane on broadway 50D greek god of ridicule 51D contemporary of virgil 52D see 94-down 54D do damage to 57D "_____ dance" (david bowie album) 60D perceptive person's detection 62D throw out 63D pitts of silent film 66D unable to see much 67D little green man 68D figure skater cohen 69D at a slow pace 70D popular sleep aid 71D "excusez-_____!" 74D words mouthed to a camera 75D leaves gasping 77D telegraphy signal 78D short-spoken 79D take up the entire sofa 80D nail holder 83D ginnie _____ 88D iconic anne baxter role 90D gets one's food on a tray, say 93D fleshy-leaved shrubs 94D with 52-down, "symphonic fantastique" composer 95D discharges 96D party to many a civil union 97D begin using 100D bandleader shaw 103D french business partner, maybe 104D "peer gynt" playwright 106D what a line of dots may signify 107D peel 108D charles lindbergh's wife 109D author of "trinity" 110D draw in 111D brisk step 112D posted 113D esp, remote viewing, and such 114D hall-of-famer dawson 115D music genre