dannmann's NYT crossword puzzle ramblings

friday, january 25, 2008
david quarfoot / will shortz
ny times online premium crossword puzzle
















difficulty factor: moderately tough, but maximally satisfying



theme: none


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in the "notes of record" category
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david, just seeing your name gave me pause, but my fleeting trepidation was largely unfounded... this was a really good friday puzzle!


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in the "other" category
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i must attend the funeral of a very dear friend's father-in-law... he was a great fella...

time for only one elaboration t'day...



43D swee' pea's creator E.C. SEGAR (after taking a $20 correspondence course in cartooning - twenty lessons at a buck a piece - elzie crisler segar [SEE-gar, like the colloquial pronunciation of the cylindrical tobacco contrivance] created his newspaper comic strip "thimble theater," in 1919. the oyl family - dad 'cole' and mom 'nana', 'olive' and brother 'castor', and their friend ham gravy were the comic's leads for the first decade of its run. the rest of olive's kin included cousin 'sutra' oyl, her uncles 'lubry kent' and 'otto' oyl, and her niece 'deezil' oyl. it wasn't until 1929, when castor oyl needed a mariner to navigate his ship to dice island, that he picked up a funny-lookin' old salt down by the docks named 'popeye'. and the rest, as they say, is history! the popeye character "stole the show" and became the permanent featured character. some of the other notable characters segar created include 'j. wellington wimpy', 'eugene the jeep', and 'swee' pea' who is popeye's adopted son... the tyke arrived in popeye's mail in an express package on july 24, 1933... and is christened almost a month later "by the names of 'SCOONER seawell georgia washenting, christiffer columbia, daniel boom'"... hmmm... not a 'swee' pea' in sight! read more about naming swee' pea at: http://www.popeyespoopdeck.com/sweepea.htm)

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in the "your mileage may vary" category
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call me quirky, but i really loved 2D it forbids religious tests for political office ARTICLE VI [of the united states costitution: "... no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the united states]


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 ©2008 The New York Times
1. war-torn baghdad suburb 9. 23-across and others15. one and only16. weather channel topic17. fleet runner of myth18. key that doesnt include 58-across19. up to20. ape22. habit23. shade shade25. biblical miracle setting26. powerful piece27. boarding spot29. call from home31. 1936 n.l leader in slugging percentage33. brooklynese pronoun34. pilot's place37. part of manhattan's alphabet city39. "be honest"41. onetime serbian capital42. show some spunk44. drops in a theater45. japanese model sold from 1970 to 200647. meccan pilgrim48. some speakers 51. abbr. before a date53. underhand?54. zip55. spotter's confirmation57. polit. label58. it's almost a b, scorewise 60. pilot's place62. apple application63. fancy haberdashery item64. no longer in65. judge of films1. henry clay or william jennings bryan2. it forbids religious tests for political office3. versatile actors may play them4. person found in a tree: abbr.5. buck6. corinthian alternative7. it might hold a couch potato's potato8. really hoped to get, with "for"9. it can be drafted10. _ bark beetle11. stuck12. 11 1/2" soldier13. online memo14. archaeologist david who found the lost roman city of kourion21. made some waves?24. word in some british place names26. put out28. school exercises30. zoo de madrid beasts32. shade of blue34. enter gently35. head of state known to his people as "dear leader"36. "of course"38. exclamations40. piehole43. swee' pea's creator45. edmond rostand hero46. calm48. composed49. direccion sailed by columbus50. british poet tate52. track-and-field equipment55. _ dixit56. 1982 film title role for bruce boxleitner 59. traffic stopper 61. school dept.