thursday, january 03, 2008
henry hook / will shortz
ny times online premium crossword puzzle
difficulty factor: well, i was a bit outta sorts, and wrong-guessin' all over the place... but don't feel sorry for me, almost all the wounds were self-caused
theme: is found at 56A "what 16- and 37-across and 11- and 24-down were all known to do" CARRY UMBRELLAS
16A MORTON SALT GIRL
37A PENGUIN
11D MARY POPPINS
24D CHAMBERLAIN
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in the "notes of record" category
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henry, am i wrong to've pegged this as more of a 'friday' puzzle?! regardless, it was chock full o' great clues and answers!
in the "most googled" category
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59D seven-faced doctor of film LAO
in the "cool multiple word answer" category
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16A ad icon since 1914 MORTON SALT GIRL (morton salt's distinctive hand-drawn logo, developed in 1914, features the "morton salt girl," a young girl walking in the rain with an opened umbrella, and scattering salt behind her from a cylindrical container of table salt is accompanied by the logo "when it rains, it pours". they were developed to illustrate the point that morton salt was free flowing, even in damp weather, as clumping was quite common prior to that. note: originally, the company had added magnesium carbonate as an absorbing agent to ensure that its table salt was free flowing; calcium silicate is now used instead for the same purpose)
34A it could easily go up FIRE TRAP
41A prig BLUE NOSE
46A bach's "partita no. 6 _ minor" ...IN E...
56A what 16- and 37-across and 11- and 24-down were all known to do CARRY UMBRELLAS
4D place to pick up a puppy PET SHOP
11D caretaker for the banks household MARY POPPINS
31D do something else with RE-USE
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in the "abbreviations, truncations, etc." category
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33A "hurry!" A.S.A.P. (as soon as possible)
9D bol. neighbor ARG. (bolivia... argentina [argentine republic])
27D fraternity chapter ETA (sigma tau alpha)44D literary monogram G.B.S. (george bernard shaw)
54D opening day? X-MAS
57D genetics abbr. R.N.A. (ribo-nucleic acid)
58D _ u.s. pat. off. REG. (registered [with the] united states patent office)
61D rr bldg. STA. (railroad... station)
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in the "further elaboration" category
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20A tree sacred to druids YEW ('the druid way' is an accounting of a journey of rediscovery that begins with a gateway [a transition place between outer and inner, death and birth] formed by a beech and yew tree. the yew is the tree of death and rebirth [or eternal life] to the irish druids; the beech tree symbolizes tradition, learning, wisdom, and ancient knowledge. note: on mainline britain, the oak tree - not the yew - was the central tree of druidry)
22A regular at kelsey's bar, on tv ARCHIE
25A crow's nest? TEEPEE (as in... crow indian)
37A oswald cobblepot's nom de crime PENGUIN (introduced in december of 1941, oswald chesterfield cobblepot, aka the penguin, is a dc comics supervillain and is the second of batman's archenemies after the joker. he was born with a short, wobbly body and a bird like nose that made him an outcast in his rich, debutante family. their rejection drove him to become a violent, cold-hearted criminal with his own self-proclaimed high society class and style. unlike most of the "rogues gallery" of batman foes, the penguin is in control of his own actions and perfectly sane, creating a unique relationship with his arch enemy. his trademarks are the various deadly umbrellas he uses to execute his evil plans.
38A boxer's hand PAW (as in... 'south paw'... for 'left-handed')
44A "the female eunuch" author GREER (the book's main thesis is that the traditional, suburban, consumerist, nuclear family represses women sexually, and that this devitalizes them, rendering them eunuchs)
47A cezanne colleague MONET (paul cezanne and claude monet self-portraits...)
51A _ paradise, protagonist of "on the road" SAL (sal paradise is the narrator and the protagonist in jack kerouac's semi-autobiographical novel 'on the road', who follows and accompanies a friend-of-a-friend, dean moriarty, on his vagrant journeys across late 1950's america in search of kicks)
64A big _____ conference EAST
67A first batter to hit a home run against every major league baseball team SOSA (interesting stat!)
6D arno city PISA
7D ignore the lyrics? SCAT (listen to scat-master crooner mel torme doin' "sweet georgia brown" and "just in time" here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odlEDzByoNQ&feature=related)
10D ring around the collar? LEI
2D ill will SPLEEN (as in... 'vent one's spleen')
17D allegheny + monongahela OHIO (as in... the rivers... the former two merge to become the latter near pittsburg, pennsylvania)
18D famous nine-year-old king TUT
23D tabula description RASA (tabula rasa [latin: 'scraped tablet' or 'clean slate'] refers to the thesis that individual human beings are born with no innate mental content, in a word, "blank", and that their entire resource of knowledge is built up gradually from their experiences and sensory perceptions of the outside world. those who subscribe to the tabula rasa thesis favor the "nurture" side of the nature versus nurture debate, when it comes to aspects of one's personality, social and emotional behavior, and intelligence)
24D churchill predecessor CHAMBERLAIN
29D bottled spirit JINNI ('genie' is the english term for the arabic jinnie [jinni, djinni, or djini] which was thought to be a favor-granting supernatural spirit in arabian folklore)
39D out of harm's way ALEE (on the sea, meaning toward, or in the direction in which the wind is blowing)
49D passing obstruction? NAY (as in... a vote)
50D silver, for one HORSE
53D art class figure NUDE
55D everglades denizen IBIS (not 'croc', dammit!)
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in the "damn-brand-new-t'-me" category
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47D grimace MOUE (pout)
13A pleasure seeker ROUE (french, [roo-AY] a man in fashionable society who is lacking in moral restraint; whimsically indulging in sensual pleasures or vices)
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in the "your mileage may vary" category
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most favorite clueS/answerS: 63A "roast setting" DAIS... and... 1D and 42D "half a huge cost?" ARM ...and... LEG
keep on keepin' on...
dannall 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. having surmounted 5. semicircular room 9. poor box contents 13. pleasure seeker 14. respectable 15. obtain 16. ad icon since 1914 19. acupressure technique 20. tree sacred to druids 22. regular at kelsey's bar, on tv 25. crow's nest? 28. rebel yell 29. one may hold the mayo 32. mend 33. "hurry!" 34. it could easily go up 36. candied side dish 37. oswald cobblepot's nom de crime 38. boxer's hand 41. prig 43. backsplash component 44. "the female eunuch" author 46. bach's "partita no. 6 _ minor" 47. cezanne colleague 48. recipient of a 1937 wooden oscar 50. contains 51. _ paradise, protagonist of "on the road" 52. impatient 56. what 16- and 37-across and 11- and 24-down were all known to do 62. antler feature 63. roast setting 64. big _ conference 65. reason to say "now what do we do?" 66. being, to brutus 67. first batter to hit a home run against every major league baseball team 1. haifa huge cost? 2. unduly 3. lord's prayer start 4. place to pick up a puppy 5. musical with the song "easy street" 6. arno city 7. ignore the lyrics? 8. sniggler's take 9. bol. neighbor 10. ring around the collar? 11. caretaker for the banks household 12. ill will 17. allegheny + monongahela 18. famous nine-year-old king 21. itty-bitty 22. vacationing 23. tabula description 24. churchill predecessor 26. have coming 27. fraternity chapter 29. bottled spirit 30. element whose name roughly means "lazy" 31. do something else with 34. charge 35. undo a lead 37. untarnished 39. out of harm's way 40. moistens 42. haifa huge cost? 43. dishevels 44. literary monogram 45. isnt stoic 47. grimace 49. passing obstruction? 50. silver, for one 53. art class figure 54. opening day? 55. everglades denizen 57. genetics abbr. 58. _ u.s. pat. off. 59. seven-faced doctor of film 60. ninny 61. rr bldg.
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