dannmann's NYT crossword puzzle ramblings

SUNDAY, november 25, 2007
trip payne / will shortz
two out of three
ny times online premium crossword puzzle














dpw difficulty factor: this was a thoroughly enjoyable puzzle plenty of room for myself and my wife to enjoy together


theme: "two out of three" as the title suggests two out of three letters in a series of three-letter words... stays the same... the third one changes producing a punned expression

3D DIP DID DIG DIN
24A ROB ROY ROT
25A MAD MAX MAN MAY MAR MAT
41A BIG BIC BIZ BIO
67A FOE FOR FOX
90A HAG HAS HAY HAT
105A SAD SAM SAW SAL SAY SAX
63D ADD ADZ ADS ADO
112A PUG PUP PUN


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in the "not necessarily explained just by the answer" category
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1A contractors' offerings BIDS

5A rigging technicians GRIPS ('grips' are [sometimes] lighting and [always] rigging technicians in the film and video industries wherte they make up their own department on a set and answer directly to a 'key grip'. like a foreman, the key grip directs a crew of grips, some with specialized skills such as dolly grips, crane operators, camera car operators, etc. grips have two main functions. the first is to work closely with the camera department, especially if the camera is mounted on a dolly, crane or other unusual position. the second is to work closely with the electrical department to put in the lighting set-ups necessary for a shot. the term 'grip' dates back to the early era of the circus... as in... "can somebody get a good grip on that rope?" and transmogrified from 'verb/action' to 'noun/person' usage. the term re-surfaced in the days silent movies and hand-cranked cameras, where it would be necessary for a few burly guys to anchor the tripod legs to stop extraneous movement of the camera. these men were constantly being instructed to 'keep a good grip on the tripod'. today, a grip's job is a craft that is a cross between that of a mechanic and that of a construction worker. as in those vocations, grips need hand tools at the ready and most carry the following items: a walkie-talkie, a razor knife, an eight-inch adjustable wrench, a 25-foot tape measure, a 3/16" hex speed-wrench, a multitool, a small flashlight, a permanent ink marker, a hammer and work gloves. additionally, a grip might also carry a torpedo level, spring clamps and a roll of 2"
black paper tape on his or her belt)

13A diamond points BASES (as in... baseball diamond)

18A fashion's tahari ELIE

19A affected TOO TOO

20A web-based education E-LEARNING

22A between green and black, maybe RIPE (green is a fruit's immature color, black is it's entirely spoiled color... somewhere in the middle it's ripe!)

29A ______ prime USDA (in the u.s., the united states department of agriculture operates a voluntary beef inspection and grading program. the meat processor pays for a trained usda meat grader to grade whole carcasses. grades are based on two main criteria: the degree of intramuscular fat 'marbling' in the beef rib eye - at the 12th rib cross-section - and the age of the animal prior to slaughter. it does NOT take tenderness or feeding method [which is thought to alter flavor] into account. most other countries' beef grading systems mirror the u.s. model. "prime" grade is highest in intramuscular fat, and currently, only three percent of the steaks sold are usda certified prime - and it is almost exclusively sold directly to hotels and upscale restaurants. "choice" grade is moderately marbled, and "select" is the leanest grade commonly sold - these two grades are the grades offered for sale in supermarkets across the u.s. there are five more grades [in descending order] "standard", "commercial", "utility", "cutter", and "canner" that are very rarely used any more, as growers are now keen to the system and will cull these animals before official inspection and sell them for other uses such as pet foods and zoos to avoid inferior grading)

30A somewhere around CIRCA (circa [latin, "about" or "around" is often abbreviated 'c.', 'ca.', 'ca' or 'cca' and sometimes italicized. it is widely used in genealogy and historical writing, in front of dates that are only approximately known)

38A bagel order SHMEAR (schmeer - also schmear, shmeer, or shmear - yiddish slang, 'shmir' or 'shmirn' : 'to smear'... an aggregation of things that go together - most often referrring to minced smoked salmon [lox] and cream cheese especially when spread on a bagel)

47A mr. noodle's friend on "sesame street" ELMO (superlatively slapstick - and non-speaking - characters "mr. noodle", mr. noodle's brother "the other mr. noodle", and their sister "ms. noodle" appear in various "elmo's world" segments of "sesame street'. they 'attempt' to pantomime an activity related to the topic of the episode... and do so 'badly' that offscreen children verbalize to 'fix" their inadequate demonstrations)

48A ltr. with a period INIT.

50A like most jigsaw puzzles DIE-CUT

51A snow leopard OUNCE (the snow leopard or uncia - an known as the ounce, in heraldry - is a large cat native to the mountain ranges of central and southern asia. along with the clouded leopard, it represents an intermediate between so-called big cats and smaller species... it cannot roar, despite possessing a cartilaginous hyoid apparatus which is thought essential in allowing the big cats to roar. athough always 'spotted' its off-white - sometimes almost dark sandy colored coat turns almost pure white just after the first snow of the season)

54A french toaster sticks maker EGGO
55A work with intaglio ETCH (intaglio [in-TAL-yo] with respect to etching refers to a printmaking techniques in which the image is eaten into a surface, known as the matrix or plate by the action of an acid instead of being gouged with a tool as in engraving. the recesses are filled with ink, paper is positioned on the plate, and then pressure is applied bringing the inked areas in contact with the paper's surfaces transferring the image. this process it the the opposite of standard printing which uses raised-surface letters coated in ink then contacting paper)

56A decent NOT BAD

57A fixes a soundtrack RE-DUBS

59A margaret famous for painting waiflike children with big eyes KEANE (margaret keane is an american illustrator and painter, whose primary focus is women, children, roses and animals in [mostly] oils and [rarely] acrylics. her pieces are instantly recognizable - although often imitated - from the doe-eyed children that are depicted in the drawings)

62A japanned metal TOLE (after glossy black tin tea trays, referred to as 'japanned ware', had been imported in early 18th century to england, it is known that the schools of art in the u.k. took apprentices and trained them in the 'one-stroke' tole [french, 'tray'] painting style required for commercial decorating of items whereby a single brush was 'double' and 'triple' loaded with oil based paints, to produce the highlight, body color and shadow, of the petal, leaf, scroll, bird, fountain, flower or other element of the design, as it would have taken much longer to blend these colors together had they been added separately. this folk art of decorative painting on metal and wooden objects spread throughout europe and the new north american colonies as well. typical metal objects include household utensils, coffee pots, urns, pitchers, serving trays and similar household items. wooden objects include tables, chairs, and chests, including hope chests, toyboxes and jewelry boxes. additional gilding was utilized as well.

69A subject of the film "an unreasonable man" NADER (ralph nader is an american attorney and political activist in the areas of consumer rights, humanitarianism, environmentalism and democratic government. nader has been a staunch critic of corporations, which he believes wield too much power and are undermining the fundamental american values of democracy and human rights. as for the 2007 documentary film that traces the life and career of nader... i will not attempt to sway the jury as it were. draw your own conclusions as to nader's objectives, methods, successe or lack thereof, and repercussions)

71A sportscaster dierdorf DAN (daniel lee dierdorf is a former american football player and past television sportscaster for abc's monday night football and currently a cbs game analyst and color commentator)

72A he spent 29 years in the knesset EBAN (abba eban [born aubrey solomon meir] was an israeli diplomat and politician whose polished presentation, grasp of history, and powerful speeches gave him authority in a united nations that was generally skeptical of israel or even hostile to it. his comment that "arabs never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity [for peace]," made after the geneva peace talks in december 1973, is often quoted)

75A formerly did USED TO

78A they travel very long distances UFO'S (unidentified flying objects)

80A x-ray doses RADS (the 'rad' is a largely obsolete unit of absorbed radiation dose that was first proposed in 1918 as "that quantity of x-rays which when absorbed will cause the destruction of any [malignant mammalian] cell in question. it was further defined in CGS units in 1953 and restated in SI in 1970. it is the dose causing 0.01 joule of energy to be absorbed per kilogram of matter. it is now superseded in the SI by the 'gray' - 100 rad are equal to 1 gray. the continued use of the 'rad' is "strongly discouraged" by the national institute of standards and technology)

81A takes too much, quickly OD'S (as in... drug... overdoses)

84A half of an animation duo HANNA (hanna-barbera was an animated cartoon production company that dominated television animation during the second half of the 20th century that was formed in 1944 by metro goldwyn mayer animation directors william hanna and joseph barbera, and live-action director george sidney as h-b enterprises. after mgm shut down its animation studio in 1957, h-b enterprises became hanna and barbera's full-time job, and the company was re-named hanna-barbera productions in 1960. it is estimated that they are responsible for over two thousand different characters, from fred flintstone and yogi bear to george jetson and the smurfs, among others. in 1991, the company was purchased by turner broadcasting, primarily so that ted turner could use its library of ca 3300 cartoon half-hours as the basis of the programming for its new cartoon network cable television channel. re-christened h-b production company in 1992, and hanna-barbera cartoons in 1993, the studio continued without active regular input from william hanna or joseph barbera, who both went into semi-retirement yet continued to serve as ceremonial figureheads for the studio. during the late 1990s, turner turned hanna-barbera towards primarily producing new material for the cartoon network. in 1996, turner was bought out by time warner)

87A "_____ unleashed!" (cartoon volume) ODIE
88A figure skating maneuver LOOP (a loop is a figure skating jump that takes off from a back outside edge and lands on the same edge)

93A something "realise" lacks ZED (ooooh... a britism... 'zed' :'z')

97A 1987 suzanne vega hit LUKA (listen here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZyxYL753w4)

103A divers' milieus SEA BEDS

115A flame battler, at times CANUCK (as in... the national hockey league's calgary flames and the vancouver canucks)
118A tannin source ACACIA
121A 1980s video game console, in brief NES (nintendo entertainment system)
5D "eydie swings the blues" singer GORME
7D find _____ one's heart IT IN

8D gray lines POEM (thomas gray was an english poet and scholar)

9D dominican-born player with more than 600 homers SOSA (samuel "sammy" sosa peralta is a designated hitter and utility outfielder)

11D get _____ of A LOAD

12D messing of "will & grace" DEBRA (debra lynn messing)

14D whenever ANY TIME

16D musician brian ENO (brian eno is an english electronic musician, music theorist and record producer who first came to prominence as the keyboard and synthesizer player of the 1970s glam and art rock band 'roxy music'. since leaving the group, he has made dozens of albums, many with similarly-minded collaborators such as harold budd, cluster, john cale, david byrne and robert fripp and a collaboration with david bowie. he was instrumebtal in helping to popularise the band devo and the punk rock-influenced "no wave" scene)
17D rank below warrant officer: abbr. SGT.

19D some crosstown trips TAXI RIDES

26D swift's "a tale of _____" A TUB (a satire by jonathan swift, 'a tale of a tub' was his first major work composed between 1694 and 1697 and published in 1704, and is a prose parody which is divided up into two sections: "digression" and "tale". the former are a series of parodies of contemporary writing in literature, politics, theology, critical interpretation and understanding of the text of the bible, and medicine; the latter presents a consistent satire of religious excess. the overall parody deals with enthusiasm, pride, and believability)

27D 1980s soviet leader andropov YURI (yuri vladimirovich andropov was a soviet politician and general secretary of the communist party of the soviet union from november of 1982 until his death from complications of kidney failure a scant fifteen months later)
33D middle name of "the king" ARON (elvis aaron presley was an american pop singer, musician and actor. he is a cultural icon, often known as "the king". presley's genuine birth certificate reads "elvis aaron presley" (as written by a doctor). there is also a souvenir birth certificate that reads "elvis aron presley." when presley did sign his middle name, he used aron. it reads 'aron' on his marriage certificate and on his army duffel bag. aron was apparently the spelling the presleys used to make it similar to the middle name of elvis' stillborn twin, jesse garon. elvis later sought to change the name's spelling to the traditional and biblical aaron. in the process he learned that "official state records had always listed it as aaron. therefore, he always was, officially, elvis aaron presley." knowing presley's plans for his middle name, aaron is the spelling his father chose for elvis' tombstone, and it is the spelling his estate has designated as the official spelling whenever the middle name is used today. however, his death certificate says "elvis aron presley." this quirk has helped inflame the "elvis is not dead" conspiracy theories. and he's not really dead... he's been photographed on several occasions at the lofty cornbread estates in texas.

36D r.n.'s locale I.C.U. (a registered nurse would be essential at... an intensive care unit)

37D u.s. dance grp. ABT (the american ballet theatre, based in new york city is one of the premiere dance companies in the world today)

38D la's region SO. CAL. (los angeles is indeed located in... southern california)

42D "skedaddle!" GIT (a colloquialism for 'get' as in ... 'get out!')

44D frenzied situation ZOO (as in... "that bar last night was a friggin' zoo, man!")

45D like some jeans BUTTON-FLY

46D to-do pile's place IN BOX

58D nut producer BEECH (as in... the beech tree)

60D in _____ (dazed) A FOG

61D vote in quebec NON (french for "no")

64D end of a james bond title LET DIE

68D graveyard shift time FOUR AM

75D w.w. II american naval cruiser USS ALASKA (uss alaska, the first of the 27,500-ton alaska class large cruisers, was built at camden, new jersey, and was commissioned in june 1944, and served with distinction throughout the second world war, and afterwaords supported the landing of occupation troops at inchon, korea. she returned to the united states in december 1945, and was decommissioned at bayonne, new jersey in february 1947, and remained there until sold for scrap in june 1960)

85D william petersen series CSI
92D "symphonie fantastique" need TUBA
98D feature of some locks KEYPAD
100D clinton's first defense secretary ASPIN (leslie "les" aspin, jr. was the united states secretary of defense under president bill clinton from january of 1993 to february of 1994, he died as the result of a stroke in may of 1995)

101D "_____ is just pink trying to be purple": whistler MAUVE

102D exeunt _ (stage direction) OMNES (the idiom 'exeunt omnes' [latin, 'exire' : 'to go out' and 'omnis' : 'all'] is a theatrical direction that means "all leave the stage")

103D beurre blanc, e.g. SAUCE (in cooking, beurre blanc [french, 'blanc' : 'white' and 'buerre' : 'butter'] is a rich, heated loire valley butter sauce made with a reduction of vinegar, white wine, or lemon juice, and shallots into which cold, whole butter is blended off the heat to prevent separation. if you add heavy cream, it ceases being buerre blanc... and becomes 'beurre nantais' : 'butter nantes' - an obviously derisive reference to a perceived less refined rival cooking school)

104D rider of the steed babieca EL CID (rodrigo "ruy" díaz de vivar burgos - aka el cid campeador - was a castilian nobleman, then military and political leader who conquered and governed the city of valencia. 'el cid' is derived from the andalusian arabic dialect word al-sīd derived from the arabic 'sayyid' : 'chief' or 'lord' - and is considered a title of respect. the title 'campeador" : 'champion's champion' was granted by his Christian admirers and supporters)

107D two-out actions: abbr. DP'S (as inm baseball... double-play... two outs in a single live play of the ball)

108D plebe's place: abbr. ACAD. (as in a freshman cadet who is attending one of the three u.s. military academies)

109D home to the dr. pepper museum WACO (waco, texas)

111D her sidekick was gabrielle XENA

113D new england sch. U.N.H. as in... university of hew hampshire)

114D new pontiac of 1964 G.T.O. (g.t.o. is an acronym for 'gran turismo omologato' which, in italian, signifies being granted approval for racing in the GT class)

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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: PROSED... 'nuff said


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 contractors'offerings 5A rigging technicians 10A traipse (about) 13A diamond points 18A fashion's tahari 19A affected 20A web-based education 22A between green and black, maybe 23A general assemblies 24A nonsense about a cocktail? 25A warning about mel gibson on a wrestling surface? 28A catchy tunes 29A _ prime 30A somewhere around 34A far from perky 35A one who tells it like it isnt 38A bagel order 39A skosh 41A major book about a leader of the lighter industry? 47A mr. noodle's friend on "sesame street" 48A ltr. with a period 50A like most jigsaw puzzles 51A snow leopard 53A capital of honshu 54A french toaster sticks maker 55A work with intaglio 56A decent 57A fixes a soundtrack 59A margaret famous for painting waiflike children with big eyes 62A japanned metal 63A climber's challenge 66A not for the masses 67A hound, typically? 69A subject of the film "an unreasonable man" 71A sportscaster dierdorf 72A he spent 29 years in the knesset 74A kind of powder 75A formerly did 76A part of making a crossword 78A they travel very long distances 80A x-ray doses 81A takes too much, quickly 84A half of an animation duo 85A verdi's "don _" 87A "_ unleashed!" (cartoon volume) 88A figure skating maneuver 90A why horses are attracted to a witch's headgear? 93A something "realise" lacks 94A overshadows 96A chang and eng's homeland 97A 1987 suzanne vega hit 99A join up 100A berserkly 103A divers' milieus 106A why guitar-loving cooke was blue when his gal named her favorite musical instrument? 112A witticism about a wrinkly little dog? 115A flame battler, at times 116A cover, in a way 117A part of the answer to 36-down 118A tannin source 119A city that lost capital status in 1990 120A unable to pay the bill 121A 1980s video game console, in brief 122A puzzled (out) 123A _ spenlow (dickens girl) 1D road's shoulder 2D its first word translates as "wrath" 3D a nitwit liked the loud noise? 4D apparently do 5D "eydie swings the blues" singer 6D some tomatoes 7D find _ one's heart 8D gray lines 9D dominican-born player with more than 600 homers 10D infection causes 11D get _ of 12D messing of "will & grace" 13D open up, as a topic 14D whenever 15D "my dear man" 16D musician brian 17D rank below warrant officer: abbr. 19D some crosstown trips 21D word before lock and load 26D swift's "a tale of _" 27D 1980s soviet leader andropov 31D count (on) 32D signed in, say 33D middle name of "the king" 35D red-shelled fruit: var. 36D r.n.'s locale 37D u.s. dance grp. 38D la's region 39D having multiple layers 40D german chancellor merkel 42D "skedaddle!" 43D making a curling motion with the forefinger, maybe 44D frenzied situation 45D like some jeans 46D to-do pile's place 49D promote 52D perfect places 56D italian saint philip _ 58D nut producer 60D in _ (dazed) 61D vote in quebec 63D complicate commercials for woodworking tools? 64D end of a james bond title 65D wrote a novel, e.g. 67D safari spottings 68D graveyard shift time 70D aviation-related 73D doldrums 75D w.w. II american naval cruiser 77D slangy turndown 79D "feels good!" 81D shoppe adjective 82D temporarily not working 83D take to the skies 85D william petersen series 86D "oh, clever!" 89D flourish 91D calls (for) 92D "symphonie fantastique" need 95D show off 98D feature of some locks 100D clinton's first defense secretary 101D "_ is just pink trying to be purple": whistler 102D exeunt _ (stage direction) 103D beurre blanc, e.g. 104D rider of the steed babieca 105D coupon user 107D two-out actions: abbr. 108D plebe's place: abbr. 109D home to the dr pepper museum 110D velcro alternative 111D her sidekick was gabrielle 112D greek consonants 113D new england sch. 114D new pontiac of 1964