dannmann's NYT crossword puzzle ramblings

tuesday, december 11, 2007
gail grabowski / will shortz
ny times online premium crossword puzzle















difficulty factor: nothin' crazy tough here... the crosses did i all



theme: oh, teenage angst...

17A BUT THAT'S NOT FAIR!
35A EVERYONE IS GOING!
53A I CAN'T DO ANYTHING!


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in the "notes of record" category
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thanks, gail, i haven't heard those expressions in years!


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in the "most googled" category
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the only thing i googled... to verify/clarify... was 44D PLAT (a map, drawn to scale, showing planned or actual features of an area [streets and building lots etc.])


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in the "cool multiple word answer" category
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26A outdated OLD HAT

49A "howdy!" HI YA!

18D "arent you the comedian?!" HA HA

33D memo phrase IN RE (in re, latin for "in the matter [of]")

36D "absolutely!" YOU BET

43D what the teen wishes the parent would do instead SAY YES

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in the "abbreviations, truncations, etc." category
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41A 1973 #1 hit"_____ an american band" WE'RE (grand funk railroad! watch here... then: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLSVazlhO3A and now... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6cL3Wui-zA&feature=related )

13D plural suffix with auction or musket -EERS

54D hi-speed connection DSL (digital subscriber loop, or digital subscriber line)

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in the "further elaboration" category
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22A novelist joyce carol ______ OATES
29A musical count BASIE
48A peter of "casablanca" LORRE (born lászló löwenstein, was a hungarian-austrian-american actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner)
50A batman and robin, e.g. DUO
62A folk singer seeger PETE
9D general on a chinese menu TSO (okay, admit it... even after years of eating the spicy-sweet stir-fried chicken named after him, you don’t have the foggiest notion who general tso [sometimes general tsung, or general tsao] was. if you’ve wondered at all, perhaps you may have imagined him to be a kindly and wise elderly chef with an honorary military title, or some such thing as that. well, no, it's not that. general tso tsungtang, [or zuo zongtang] was born in hunan province, in 1812, and died seventy-three years later. tso made war, and war made tso. he was a ruthless, brutal military leader during the greatest upheaval in 19th century china - the 14-year-long civil war known as the taiping rebellion - which claimed millions of lives and caused massive displacements and shifts in population. hundreds of thousands of people fled or emigrated, many to america, where they worked building the transcontinental railroad, which was completed in 1869. it would be possible to leave the story here and say that general tso's chicken simply honors a famous personality, just as chicken marengo was whipped up for napoleon after he defeated the austrians at marengo, or the way peach melba was created for australian opera singer nellie melba. but that’s not quite the case. it seems that the recipe is not even particularly original - the same ingredients are used in many stir-fry chinese dishes - and the cheaper dark meat chicken argues for a humbler origin. it's a poor man's dish, not a feast for a field marshal. so how did it get it’s name? it is said that the immigrants to america altered the fiery hunan dish "chung ton gai" with a sweeter cantonese bend, and named the chopped chicken dish after him to remember the "death of a thousand sword cuts” he used as retaliation on his enemies. still hungry?)
23D "moonstruck" actress CHER
31D tennis great agassi ANDRE

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in the "damn-brand-new-t'-me" category
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nuttin' t'day...

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in the "your mileage may vary" category
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favorite clue/answer: 5D couples' destination ARARAT love it? hate it? either way, it's the best clue t'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. like some petticoats 5. own up (to) 10. bank with significant deposits? 14. award for "hot l baltimore" 15. harness parts 16. writer _ stanley gardner 17. teen's response to a parent's "no" 20. somme summer 21. greek war god 22. novelist joyce carol _ 23. blacken 24. pumpkin pie ingredient 26. outdated 29. musical count 30. "encore!" 31. forest in "as you like it" 32. by way of 35. teen's response to a parent's "no" 39. with 40-across, change of government 40. see 39-across 41. 1973 #1 hit"_ an american band" 42. basketball position 43. gushed 45. subject to legal damages 47. like badly worn tires 48. peter of "casablanca" 49. "howdy!" 50. batman and robin, e.g. 53. teen's response to a parent's "no" 57. window section 58. power problem 59. mideastv.i.p. 60. narrow cut 61. wheels for big wheels 62. folk singer seeger 1. ear or leaf feature 2. be next to 3. mention, as in a court opinion 4. to date 5. couples' destination? 6. prevent through intimidation 7. pageant title 8. country lodge 9. general on a chinese menu 10. malign 11. steaming 12. movie-set light 13. plural suffix with auction or musket 18. "arent you the comedian?!" 19. lugging 23. "moonstruck" actress 24. point from which there's nowhere to go but up 25. depletes, with "up" 26. meteor shooting across the sky, maybe 27. aphrodite's domain 28. sketched 29. kennel club listing 31. tennis great agassi 32. panorama 33. memo phrase 34. like some cheeses 36. "absolutely!" 37. _ surgeon 38. had to hand it to? 42. january birthstone 43. what the teen wishes the parent would do instead 44. land office map 45. hometown-related 46. tehran resident 47. "ex-x-xactly!" 48. kissers 49. havoc 50. "it's your _" 51. military group 52. nasty sort 54. hi-speed connection 55. non's opposite 56. with it, once