paula gamache / will shortz
ny times online premium crossword puzzle
difficulty factor: three outta five band-aids; i just beat myself up pretty good over this one.theme: as stated in 53A unfeeling nature ... or a literal hint to 19-, 31- and 38-across HEART OF STONE... near the center of the three themed answers is the word "stone"
- 19A PISTON ENGINE
- 31A BRET EASTON ELLIS
- 38A FIRST ONE TO BLINK
day-um... was it last night's beer an' music playin', or was i out of touch with ms. gamache for another reason? i had a helluva time with parts of this one!
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in the "not necessarily explained just by the answer" category
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9A glass substitute MICA (a silicate mineral; pressed mica sheets are often used in place of glass in greenhouses, and because mica is highly heat resistant, it is used instead of glass in windows for stoves and kerosene heaters)
14A "jabberwocky," for one POEM (lewis carroll penned what is considered one of the greatest nonsense poems ever written. it is part of his novel 'through the looking-glass, and what alice found there'. i remember laboriously struggling through it in an english class in high school because of its use of a li'l something called "portmanteaux", the fusion of two or more words - or word parts - to give a combined/dramatic meaning)
what? what?! don't ask... i don't remember THAT much about it!
15A real _____ MCCOY (of the ten or so purported origins of this expression, my favorite is the one that tells of an inventor of a lubricant - and an entire process related to it - for steam-driven locomotive engines by the name of elijah mccoy. competitors tried to counterfeit his slick stuff - and failed miserably - and the phrase "real mccoy" was used to refer to his authentic goods)
16A former southern constellation in the shape of a ship ARGO (argo - originally argo navis - was a grouping of stars that ptolemy (and others before him) thought represented the vessel used by jason and the argonauts - searching for the golden fleece - in greek mythology. well, go figure... sixteen hundred years later some joker named nicolas louis de lacaille decided it needed to be broken up into smaller sections... after all, it was too BIG... and how else would anybody ever hear of HIS name?!)
17A billet-doux writer AMIE ("billet-doux" french, literally "ticket-soft", meaning a love letter, and is used mostly in a light-hearted, humorous manner; "amie", french, "female friend"... drop the 'e' for "ami", "male friend"])
18A "skunk egg" ONION (an old cowboy term)
30A "tres sexy!" OO LA LA (c'mon! look at the faces (with rod stewart) album from 1973 , it's "ooH la la"! initially stewart believed that the title cut - written by band mates ronnie wood and ronnie lane - was not up to his standards, and although both stewart and writer lane both recorded lead vocals for the song, they were on the outs with each other and their performances each lacked something... producer glyn johns suggested that co-writer wood give it a shot, and THAT'S the version that was released on the the faces last studio album. hear the song with all that olde-tyme phonograph "hiss, crackle 'n' pop" here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJam1LMoWs4 [and for you digital babies... without the "hiss, crackle 'n' pop" listen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZEy_kJ8nJU )
31A"american psycho" author BRET EASTON ELLIS (darkness and depravity run rampant in his "moralistic satires")
63A equipment in chuck-a-luck DICE (chuck-a-luck is a carnival gambling game played with three, four, or five standard dice housed in an hourglass-like cage that is suspended and rotated through its middle point... it's a sucker's game in that the odds are stacked WAY in the house's favor)
64A best of the early beatles PETE
2D setting for "la traviata" PARIS (a three-act opera by giuseppe verdi... ah... mr. verdi again... two days in a row!)
4D it's read to the unruly RIOT ACT ("the riot act" was originally signed into law in britain in the early 1700's as a way to disperse - or face arrest - "any group of more than twelve people to be unlawfully assembled" and actually stayed on the statute books until 1973. now, with soccer hooligans and such... we need it more than ever!)
5D beach adjacent to copacabana IPANEMA (on rio de janeiro, brazil's south side; "the girl from ipanema", was a top 5 in the summer of 1964)
7D sinn _____ FEIN (sinn féin, pronounced SHIN FAY-n, irish, "ourselves" or "we ourselves"; a name used by a series of irish political movements; currently it refers to the ultra left-wing political party dedicated to irish nationalism as well as independence/republicanism)
8D the end OMEGA
9D historian william h. _, author of "the rise of the west" MCNEILL (william hardy mcneill, a noted world historian. his book views the world in terms of the the extensive effects of euro-american civilization on other cultures over the past five centuries)
10D here, abroad ICI (ohh la la... more french!)
12D philosopher rand AYN (born alisa zinov'yevna rosenbaum, was a russian-born american novelist and philosopher known for creating the controversial philosophy she named "objectivism". her aversion to the use of emotional terminology to describe cognitive activities is a central theme)
15D secretary of state during the war of 1812 MONROE (and eventual 5th president of the u.s., james monroe)
20D siouan speaker OTOE (the otoe - or oto [expect it soon!] - are a native american people; their language "chiwere" is closely related to that of the iowa and missouri tribes)
21D monopoly token IRON (as kids [with four brothers and sisters] we were "assigned" pieces by my father... i was the top hat!)
24D "rag doll" singer, 1964 VALLI (frankie valli, born francis stephen castellucio)
26D kind of surgery for the eyes LASIK (Laser-Assisted in SItu Keratomileusis, a type of eye surgery performed by ophthalmologists to correct a variety of vision problems)
31D without question BY FAR
32D marie antoinette, par exemple REINE (mon dieu! even more french! reine: "queen")
39D "you pay attention!" SEE HERE
40D factor in pageant judging TALENT (yeah, right!)
42D one who's late to adopt the latest OLD FOGY
51D pass ENACT (as in legislation)
52D strikes out DELE's (as in editing)
55D cartoon canine ODIE
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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. quarrel (with) 5. contents of a scoop 9. glass substitute 13. child's plea 14. "jabberwocky," for one 15. real _ 16. former southern constellation in the shape of a ship 17. billet-doux writer 18. "skunk egg" 19. internal-combustion device 22. executor's concern 23. when someone 27-across 27. see 23-across 30. "tres sexy!" 31. "american psycho" author 35. one of the first to raise a hand, usually 36. barn adjunct 37. scented gift 38. loser in a staring contest 45. temper, as metal 46. vaccine target 47. acts as a middleman 49. began 53. unfeeling nature ... or a literal hint to 19-, 31- and 38-across 56. lustrous black 59. "what _?" 60. type choice: abbr. 61. apply 62. not worth _ 63. equipment in chuck-a-luck 64. best of the early beatles 65. chop _ 66. tolkien's talking trees 1. suffix with land or sea 2. setting for "la traviata" 3. inner tension 4. it's read to the unruly 5. beach adjacent to copacabana 6. the _ nugget, alaska's oldest newspaper 7. sinn _ 8. the end 9. historian william h. _, author of "the rise of the west" 10. here, abroad 11. be lovey-dovey 12. philosopher rand 15. secretary of state during the war of 1812 20. siouan speaker 21. monopoly token 24. "rag doll" singer, 1964 25. visitor from afar 26. kind of surgery for the eyes 28. home of "monday night football" 29. soak 31. without question 32. marie antoinette, par exemple 33. gets 34. hang _ 39. "you pay attention!" 40. factor in pageant judging 41. stewpot 42. one who's late to adopt the latest 43. leaning 44. beach maximizer 48. mex. misses 50. away 51. pass 52. strikes out 54. vegan's protein source 55. cartoon canine 56. agent, for short 57. sturdy feller? 58. a.s.p.c.a. worker
2 comments:
best clue of the day: 40D
best answer of the day: 40D
worst clue of the day; 40D
worst answer of the day: 40D
40D? Ditto.
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