SUNDAY, january 20, 2008
natan morel last / will shortz
triangulation
ny times online premium crossword puzzle
difficulty factor: this was a bit of a toughie, for a sunday, methinks
theme/title: triangulation... well... sorta... the circles that start at 81 when viewed in a counterclockwise direction, spell out: 'TRIGONOMETRY".
this "cramalot" involves putting the abbreviation for the three most common trigonometric functions [sine = SIN, cosine = COS, and tangent = TAN] into six answer squares, using each twice...
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in the "notes of record" category
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ouch, natan, i wasn't expecting such a workout! i'm certain i could come up with five good excuses, starting with... being tired... and... not feeling well... and...
but what's the point?! when it's all said an' done, this was a likeable bit of a battle for a sunday!
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in the "most googled" category
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hmmm... maybe... 5D quark-plus-antiquark particle MESON
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in the "cool mutiple word answer" category
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12A "the simpsons" character who often refers to himself in the third person DISCO STU
20A "_____ tale's best for winter": shak. A SAD...
22A how mulan dresses in much of "mulan" AS A MAN
24A something to play CAT AND MOUSE
34A "where _____ go wrong?" ...DID I...
44A "dont worry about me" I'M FINE
62A when the sun is directly overhead AT MID DAY
64A combined IN ONE (not... 'whole'... lo-cal...)
67A facilities REST ROOMS
73A thin-framed, big-footed woman of cartoons OLIVE OYL
78A chest protector RIB CAGE
87A "notes _ scandal," 2006 film ...ON A...
88A skateboarder's accessory KNEE PAD
100A gag reflex? HA HA!
115A drink whose name is tahitian for "good" MAI TAI
3D whence the line "into the eternal darkness; into fire and into ice" DANTE'S INFERNO
5D "that _____ it should be" ...IS AS...
7D pc data reader CD DRIVE
10D working out of BASED IN
11D what those in agreement are said to be of ONE MIND
13D bats IS UP
15D "seinfeld" character COSMO KRAMER
16D "catch your breath" TAKE A REST
28D place for surfing THE 'NET
38D second showing RE-RUN
40D wish one could LONG TO
44D query to the lord in matthew IS IT I?
47D "love of loves" MY DARLING
49D in the blink of _____ AN EYE
53D oaf SAD SACK
63D maria muldaur's "_ woman" I'M A...
70D like things TWO PEAS IN A POD
74D "that makes sense!" I GET IT
79D "do what you want" I DON'T CARE
84D it was passed in may 1773 TEA ACT
102D when some nighttime news begins AT TEN
116D "_ in icarus" (1979 french thriller) I, AS...
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in the "abbreviations, truncations, etc." category
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4A i.r.s. form 1099-_____ MISC. (miscellaneous)
39A bird: prefix AVI-
52A single, for one: abbr. SYN.
54A sinai borderer: abbr. ISR. (israel)
55A king in a steve martin song TUT (tutankhamun)
81A subject of this puzzle [and proceeding counterclockwise] TRIGO-
83A summons: abbr. CIT. (citation)
96A big picture?: abbr. ENL. (enlarge[ment])
99A songwriters' org. B.M.I. (broadcast music incorporated)
119A x-ray _, joke shop offering SPEX (a thrashing of 'spectacles')
8D three-time a.l. m.v.p., familiarly A-ROD (Alex RODriguez0
12D court figs. D.A.'S (district attorneys)
28D place for surfing THE 'NET (the internet)
30D star wars, initially S.D.I. (strategic defense initiative)
57D see 81-across -EMONO-
65D like some diet colas, in brief NO-CAL. (no calories)
98D "_ miniver" MRS.
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in the "other" category
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in the "damn-brand-new-t'-me" category
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in the "your mileage may vary" category
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(for relevence of the above graphic... see comments)
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. magazine that features "alfred's poor almanac" 4. i.r.s. form 1099-_ 8. early pulpit 12. "the simpsons" character who often refers to himself in the third person 18. speedy steed 20. "_ tale's best for winter": shak. 21. reddish-brown 22. how mulan dresses in much of "mulan" 23. fielder's cry 24. something to play 26. numbers game 27. they're left behind 29. turns in 31. old infantry spears 32. saw things 33. "_ bias" (lesage novel) 34. "where _ go wrong?" 36. procter & gamble brand 37. one succumbing to 6-down 39. bird: prefix 40. it might be silver 42. be in another form 44. "dont worry about me" 46. archbishop tutu 48. censures 50. some players in a kids' game 52. single, for one: abbr. 53. as quickly as possible 54. sinai borderer: abbr. 55. king in a steve martin song 56. star in old westerns 58. home of canadian p.m. stephen harper 59. freight weight 60. "great" boy detective 62. when the sun is directly overhead 64. combined 67. facilities 69. creepy sort 73. thin-framed, big-footed woman of cartoons 75. indian bread 77. lilliputian 78. chest protector 81. subject of this puzzle [and proceeding counterclockwise] 83. summons: abbr. 85. words of honor? 86. thought 87. "notes _ scandal," 2006 film 88. skateboarder's accessory 90. rim in which a gem is set 91. guessing game 95. flat _ (some proponents of i.r.s. reform) 96. big picture?: abbr. 97. jazz singer nina 99. songwriters' org. 100. gag reflex? 101. cordoba kinswoman 103. bring (out) 104. bagel topper 105. strip joints? 108. buttonholes 110. new york governor after pataki 113. place 115. drink whose name is tahitian for "good" 117. like any points on a circle, from the center 119. x-ray _, joke shop offering 120. sandinista leader 121. pipsqueak 122. judge .with "up" 123. went like the dickens 124. mixed economy advocate 125. salty septet 126. disney world transport 127. galas 1. "speed-the-plow" playwright 2. greet the day 3. whence the line "into the eternal darkness; into fire and into ice" 4. medieval weapon 5. "that _ it should be" 6. see 37-across 7. pc data reader 8. three-time a.l. m.v.p., familiarly 9. pouty look 10. working out of 11. what those in agreement are said to be of 12. court figs. 13. bats 14. _ hawkins day 15. "seinfeld" character 16. "catch your breath" 17. "_ pro omnibus, omnes pro uno" 19. 1950s stereotype 25. joan rivers's daughter and tv co-host 28. place for surfing 30. star wars, initially 33. flit (about) 35. highlighted, as text 38. second showing 40. wish one could 41. comprehensive 43. spanish pronoun 44. query to the lord in matthew 45. quark-plus-antiquark particle 47. "love of loves" 49. in the blink of _ 51. not just hungry 53. oaf 56. inebriate 57. see 81-across 61. place for a swing 63. maria muldaur's "_ woman" 65. like some diet colas, in brief 66. makes up? 68. power in hollywood 70. like things 71. chest material 72. listens to 74. "that makes sense!" 76. bottom of the _ 78. the owls of the n.c.a.a. 79. "do what you want" 80. aggressiveness 82. played 84. it was passed in may 1773 89. poop 91. store on "sesame street" 92. relic 93. don juan 94. put the kibosh on 98. "_ miniver" 102. when some nighttime news begins 106. alamogordo's county 107. makes attractive, with "up" 108. every which way 109. wizard 111. kind of melt 112. jerry scott/jim borgman comic 113. anthem part 114. tabloid twosome 116. "_ in icarus" (1979 french thriller) 118. how every letter to the economist begins
2 comments:
NO FAIR! I was breezing through this, with no googling at all, but never got the SIN, COS, TAN thing until I cheated. As far as I'm concerned, this violates the fundamental one-letter-per-box paradigm on which the entire crossword puzzle universe is based. And yeah, I was kind of tired too. And my head hurts.
well, vlad,
as you will note, twice in today’s post i called this puzzle a CRAMALOT: once in the 'theme' section, and once in the 'labels' section...
it seems that a great deal of the rest of the world, on occasion, gets absolutely zonkers when tryin' t' fill in little spaces. some have even decided that a picture could be used to substitute for a letter in a space! as will happen, a few of ‘em eventually got t’gether. they held clandestine monthly meetings, appointed themselves as officers, strong-arm lobbied, unionized the minions, got all legal and decided to call these picture-substitution puzzles "rebuses".
so, is this puzzle a rebus?
well, no, dammit... it's a CRAMALOT!
i excerpt in whole (well, the pertinent part of) the perfect explanation robert loy gave [when he was pinch-hitting for regular puzzler/blogger linda g. at her "madness - crossword and otherwise" blog on october 7 of last year] forthwith...
=====begin quote===============
"...this is what I call a CRAMALOT puzzle and the rest of the crossword community calls a rebus. But I can't call it a rebus because the word "rebus" means picture puzzle. If you're old enough to remember the TV game show "Concentration" you know what a rebus looks like:
[the graphic just above my sign-off]
(Eye-toen't-bell-leaf-waa-dice-e... “I don't believe what I see!”)
Too young for "Concentration"? Old enough to drink? Perhaps you've seen rebuses on the caps of Ballantine Ale. (and lone star beer... :dann) I used to use these as a yardstick to moderate my consumption. When they started getting difficult to figure out, I'd had enough.
So, to me this puzzle is not a rebus -- some crossword puzzles are. If the letters you have to cram can make a simple picture like say "KEY" or "HAT" and you actually put a picture of a key or a hat there, that's a rebus.
And yes, I know the whole world calls any puzzle with more than one letter in a square a rebus. Doesn't make it right. The majority of Americans think "a lot" is one word, and hat "Enough" can be spelled "Enuf" and that "Dancing With the Stars" is must-see TV.
All I can say is if you call this puzzle a rebus, you better have drawn a [cute l’il picture] in the appropriate squares. If instead you crammed [more than one letter] in there, than it's a cramalot..."
=====end of quote===============
i’m not ordinarily a huge fan of cramalots - especially when the letters being crammed are not constant, as is the case today – but since i started in the lower right corner, i ran into the problem with ‘equidistant’ kinda early… i then thought all funny spots would be filled with ‘TAN’... i was even willing to put the color in the spots and almost believe it could be called it a rebus, but alas, the 17-year-old puzzle constructor, nate, saw fit to do otherwise… and… where this would usually irk the livin’ shit outta me, somehow t’day it fit my mood and everything… who knew?!
dann
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