dannmann's NYT crossword puzzle ramblings

tuesday, november 13, 2007
fred piscop / will shortz
ny times online premium crossword puzzle
















difficulty factor: this one hurt me a bit more than was necessary... i allowed it


theme: punned "commercial interest" names

20A SHOWING CONCERN
35A HOLDING FIRM
53A PARTING COMPANY

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in the "today's most googled answer" category
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by far it is: 33D handyman bob VILA

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in the "not necessarily explained just by the answer" category
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5A assigned stars to RATED (i give this puzzle three stars: ***)

14A jewish ritual BRIS (a bris [yiddish] [or brit milah [hebrew] is the religious ritual circumcision of the foreskin on the penis as required by jewish law)

18A cutoffs fabric DENIM

23A drive-thru convenience, perhaps ATM (automated teller machine)

25A "_____ to say this, but..." I HATE

28A stereotypical sandwich board diner JOE'S ...and... 40A beanery sign EATS

33A knight's attendant VARLET

39A former "dateline nbc" co-host jane PAULEY

43A cockpit abbr. ALT (altitude)

47A portugal's place IBERIA (the iberian peninsula, or iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of europe, and includes modern day spain, portugal, andorra and gibraltar)
49A the march king SOUSA (john philip sousa was an american composer and conductor of american military marches)
51A _____-caps (nestle candy) SNO
52A row c abbr., maybe IND (as in voting booth... independent)

59A dweller along the arabian sea OMANI (from oman)

63A. mullally of "will & grace" MEGAN
64A zz top, e.g. TRIO
66A dummy mortimer SNERD (one of the late, great amerivan ventriloquist edgar bergan's 'dummy's')
3D jumble MISH-MASH

5D figure that's squared in a common formula RADIUS (as in math formula AÅ = π r² [{the area of a} {circle} is equal to "pi" {3.1416...} {times the} radius squared])
10D place for an umbrella BEACH
22D some japanese-americans NISEI [NEE-say]

28D a singing jackson JANET
33D tv handyman bob VILA

34D kind of diagram TREE (as in family tree)
36D the pineapple island LANAI
41D cratchit boy TINY TIM

45D submit, as homework TURN IN

47D under consideration IN MIND

48D dizzy gillespie's genre BOP

51D school locator? SONAR (as in school of fish)

54D pierre, frangois, etc. NOMS (french names)

61D brillo alternative S.O.S. (Soap On Steel scrubbing pads)

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n 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
1A prefix with sphere 5A assigned stars to 10A thriving time 14A jewish ritual 15A visibly stunned 16A humorist bombeck 17A ornery sort 18A cutoffs fabric 19A yemeni port 20A striptease business? 23A drive-thru convenience, perhaps 24A having lunch, say 25A "_____ to say this, but..." 26A some auto deals 28A stereotypical sandwich board diner 31A young 'un 32A younger brother, say 33A knight's attendant 35. wrestling business? 39A former "dateline nbc" co-host jane 40A beanery sign 43. cockpit abbr. 46A carefully arranged 47A portugal's place 49. the march king 51A _____-caps (nestle candy) 52A row c abbr., maybe 53A comb business? 58A volcano known to locals as mongibello 59A dweller along the arabian sea 60A "darn!" 62A goatee site 63A. mullally of "will & grace" 64A zz top, e.g. 65A look after 66A dummy mortimer 67A thanksgiving side dish 1D "dancing with the stars" airer 2D one on a board 3D jumble 4D _____ buco 5D figure that's squared in a common formula 6D go-between 7D zesty flavor 8D cast-of-thousands film 9D floor model 10D place for an umbrella 11D tough time 12D mafia code of silence 13D unlike drone aircraft 21D reason to cry "alas!" 22D some japanese-americans 23D jungfrau or eiger 27D metro map feature 28D a singing jackson 29D bacchanalian revelry 30D polar drudge 33D tv handyman bob 34D kind of diagram 36D the pineapple island 37D expected in 38D sauce for some seafood 41D cratchit boy 42D bummed out 43D appearance 44D not be able to stomach 45D submit, as homework 47D under consideration 48D dizzy gillespie's genre 50D witness's place 51D school locator? 54D pierre, frangois, etc. 55D hood fighters 56D parakeet keeper 57D pseudo-cultured 61D brillo alternative