dannmann's NYT crossword puzzle ramblings

tuesday, november 27, 2007
julie ann bowling / will shortz
ny times online premium crossword puzzle
















difficulty factor: although there was some wednesday/thursday-type clues, this was not too bad at all.

theme: vowel sounds of the lead word get the ol' switcheroo

20A LEAD PENCIL
9D POLISH JOKE
57A MINUTE MAID
29D BASS GUITAR


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in the "notes of record" category
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julie, y' had me snarlin' an' snortin' just a wee bit with this... i liked it a lot!

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in the "not necessarily explained just by the answer" category
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6A post-op locale I.C.U. (intensive care unit)

13A workplace for some clowns RODEO
18A rice-shaped pasta ORZO
19A late-night name LENO
22A hunchbacked assistant IGOR
23A "all my _____ live in texas" (1987 #1 country hit) EXES (whitey shafer penned this whimsical tune and sings his version here - with a very strange video twist... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6MUOtFtgwQ&feature=related )

26A 2 and 12, e.g., in dice DOUBLETS
32A bart's teacher, _____ krabappel EDNA
35A oslo is on one FJORD (or fiord, is a long, narrow waterway with steep sides, made when a glacier cuts a deep v-shaped valley - by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock with the sediment it carries - and is then inundated with an influx of water from melting ice sheets and glaciers around the world after an ice age)

42A northamptonshire river OUSE (the river ouse [ooze] is a river in northern england from just southwet of york to ripon)

46A toy with a cross frame KITE
47A dental problem calling for braces GAPS (dentist call it 'diastema')

49A puts together hastily SCARES UP

55A baton rouge sch. L.S.U. (louisiana state university)

56A prefix with culture AGRI-

65A persian tongue FARSI (fārsi is an indo-european language derived from the language of the ancient persians spoken by as many as 30 millian people in iran, afghanistan, tajikistan and uzbekistan)

6D hard porcelain IRONSTONE (ironstone is a fine-grained, heavy and compact sedimentary rock made up of the carbonate or oxide of iron, clay and/or sand, and may also contain calcite and quartz. it may appear rusty brown on an exposed surface, but the interior is gray)

7D magazine fig. CIRC. (circulation)

10D alphabet ender OMEGA (as in... the greek alphabet))

26D china's _____ xiaoping DENG (deng xiaoping was a prominent chinese politician and reformer, and leader of the communist party of china, and while he never held office as the head of state or the head of government, he served as the de facto leader of the people's republic of china from the late 1970's to the early 1990's. he pioneered economic reform, and opened china to the global market and vastly increased the chinese standard of living)
30D ivory, coast and others SOAPS
36D alsace assents OUIs (alsace is one of the 26 regions of france, located on the eastern border on the west bank of the upper rhine, adjacent to germany and switzerland)

37D queue after q R-S-T-U

44D _____ tomé SAO (the democratic republic of são tomé and príncipe is a two island nation in the gulf of guinea, off the western equatorial coast of africa off of the northwestern coast of gabon named after saint thomas by portuguese explorers who discovered the island on his feast day)

53D jim who sang "time in a bottle" CROCE (have a listen... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvTjp7ZUNjQ)

58D ibsen's _____ helmer NORA (the principal character if "a doll's house")

59D hand, to hernando MANO (spanish, 'hand' : 'mano')

60D rainbow shapes ARCS

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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
1A in debt 6A post-op locale 9A bets build them 13A workplace for some clowns 14A melon exterior 16A sign to heed 17A states confidently 18A rice-shaped pasta 19A late-night name 20A number one #2? 22A hunchbacked assistant 23A "all my _ live in texas" (1987 #1 country hit) 24A manorial worker 26A 2 and 12, e.g., in dice 31A "i am such a dope!" 32A bart's teacher, _ krabappel 33A hen's home 35A oslo is on one 39A have-_ (poor people) 40A traffic problem 42A northamptonshire river 43A yucky 45A olympics blade 46A toy with a cross frame 47A dental problem calling for braces 49A puts together hastily 51A empty, as a stare 55A baton rouge sch. 56A prefix with culture 57A little woman? 63A heist haul 64A proceed slowly 65A persian tongue 66A cuzco native 67A holding a grudge 68A "i surrender!" 69A batik artist 70A in a funk 71A manages to elude 1D like most folklore 2D used a loom 3D brainchild 4D social misfit 5D matthew or mark 6D hard porcelain 7D magazine fig. 8D loosen, as a parka 9D what a comedian might do before going onstage? 10D alphabet ender 11D carpentry joint part 12D angry bull's sound 15D apportioned, with "out" 21D members of management 25D "_ wiedersehen" 26D china's _ xiaoping 27D dumpster emanation 28D sermon preposition 29D fish-shaped musical instrument? 30D ivory, coast and others 34D made impossible 36D alsace assents 37D queue after q 38D tough to fathom 41D most trivial 44D _ tomé 48D high-heel shoes 50D really sorry 51D not yet expired 52D intense pain 53D jim who sang "time in a bottle" 54D missile sites 58D ibsen's _ helmer 59D hand, to hernando 60D rainbow shapes 61D cruise stopover 62D stamping tools