saturday, january 05, 2008
paula gamache / will shortz
ny times online premium crossword puzzle
difficulty factor: after my initial "saturday tentative posturing", i fell into the zone and crushed this one!
theme: none
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in the "notes of record" category
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paula, i know people aren't ordinarily supposed t' talk like this about a saturday puzzle, but i liked this puzzle a lot... (oh, and i have nary a bitch at all, except for the use of one word... sonofabitch, i can't remember which one it was now... ain't that a bitch?!)
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in the "most googled" category
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my guess for the top three is leanin' toward...
1. 18A ____-de-four (hemisphere-shaped vault) CUL...
2. 28D where fredo corleone gets shot LAKE TAHOE... and...
3. 1A saucily titled best-selling diet book SKINNY BITCH
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in the "cool mutiple word answer" category
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15A it's featured in "a night at the opera" IL TROVATORE (the performance of (verdi's il tovadore [the troubadour] is trashed by classic marx brothers antics!)
17A target of a school bully TEACHER'S PET
21A internet site graphics WEB ART
10D private dos? CREW CUTS
12D yosemite valley peak EL CAPITAN
13D dumped POURED OUT
14D harms ILL-TREATS
29D passive-aggressive and the like OXY-MORON
30D common desiccant SILICA GEL
38D apiece FOR EACH
41D light into LASH AT
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in the "abbreviations, truncations, etc." category
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12A center starter? EPI- (a prefix meaning "on, upon, over, above, around, close to, beside" or, in some cases "after")
16A tickled user's response L.O.L. (laughing out loud!)
18A _-de-four (hemisphere-shaped vault) CUL-
19A 3,280.84 ft. KIL. (kilometre)
20A suspect's request: abbr. ATTY. (attorney)
26A fig. on a 1970's dollar D.D.E. (dwight david eisenhower)
56A an alien may take it: abbr. E.S.L. (english [as a] second language)
4D reactor overseer: abbr. N.R.C. (nuclear regulatory commission)
40D no yankee fan REB (rebel... think... the u.s. civil war)
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in the "other" category
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25A ice remover SCRAPER
27A enamel strengthener FLUORIDE (as in... tooth enamel; the hard outer layer)
31A slip fillers BOATS (docks are the land masses and attachments... slips are the sections off the dock at the water mass)
35A chateau _-brion (bordeaux wine) HAUT
41A john of lancaster LOO (john : toilet... lancaster os a british city... british toilet: loo!)
47A like 1, but not I ARABIC (most of the world today uses arabic numerals, and a form of latin [or roman] alphabetic letter characters)
22D manhattan's place BAR (as in... the rye whiskey, vermouth, and bitters drink!)
24D every month has one IDES (we all kinda knew it is the fifteeth day of march, but it is also the fifteenth day of may, july, or october... and the thirteenth day of the other months!)
25D ticket SLATE (as in election mates)
27D babes FOXES (yeah... but... back when?!)
37D steinbeck's birthplace SALINAS
43D governor who helped found ohio state university HAYES (as in... future-president rutherford b.)
45D unitedhealth rival AETNA
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in the "your mileage may vary" category
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"bitch" it's a slippery slope... how far is it to... ???
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. saucily titled best-selling diet book 12. center starter? 15. it's featured in "a night at the opera" 16. tickled user's response 17. target of a school bully 18. _-de-four (hemisphere-shaped vault) 19. 3,280.84 ft. 20. suspect's request: abbr. 21. internet site graphics 23. chooses by divine election 25. ice remover 26. fig. on a 1970s dollar 27. enamel strengthener 28. has confiscated 31. slip fillers 32. t preceder 33. alliance 34. college bookstore stock 35. chateau _-brion (bordeaux wine) 36. arizona senator jon 37. yes or no follower 38. abundant sources 39. lands in the persian gulf 41. john of lancaster 42. ben jonson poem 43. n.f.l salary limit 47. like 1, but not I 48. rest 49. peggy of "the dukes of hazzard" 50. not be generous with 51. they really ought to be kicked 54. next to nothing? 55. sign of stress? 56. an alien may take it: abbr. 57. is a hero 1. university of alaska southeast campus site 2. anne of fashion 3. _ disco (european dance music) 4. reactor overseer: abbr. 5. cry from a daredevil cyclist 6. 1884 short story by guy de maupassant 7. st. _ (caribbean island, familiarly) 8. wee, to a wee 'un 9. foremost 10. private dos? 11. they're straight 12. yosemite valley peak 13. dumped 14. harms 22. manhattan's place 24. every month has one 25. ticket 27. babes 28. where fredo corleone gets shot 29. passive-aggressive and the like 30. common desiccant 31. kentucky college 34. body found high in the andes 35. where to hang, in slang 37. steinbeck's birthplace 38. apiece 40. no yankee fan 41. light into 43. governor who helped found ohio state university 44. called out 45. unitedhealth rival 46. like plaster 48. suffix with super 52. explorer, e.g. 53. dating letters
2 comments:
argh! "Crew cuts!" Took me forever to get that one.
kalisah,
no! wait longer than forever... your hair looks just fine!
dann
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