tuesday, november 13, 2007
fred piscop / will shortz
ny times online premium crossword puzzle
















difficulty factor: this one hurt me a bit more than was necessary... i allowed it


theme: punned "commercial interest" names

20A SHOWING CONCERN
35A HOLDING FIRM
53A PARTING COMPANY

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in the "today's most googled answer" category
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by far it is: 33D handyman bob VILA

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in the "not necessarily explained just by the answer" category
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5A assigned stars to RATED (i give this puzzle three stars: ***)

14A jewish ritual BRIS (a bris [yiddish] [or brit milah [hebrew] is the religious ritual circumcision of the foreskin on the penis as required by jewish law)

18A cutoffs fabric DENIM

23A drive-thru convenience, perhaps ATM (automated teller machine)

25A "_____ to say this, but..." I HATE

28A stereotypical sandwich board diner JOE'S ...and... 40A beanery sign EATS

33A knight's attendant VARLET

39A former "dateline nbc" co-host jane PAULEY

43A cockpit abbr. ALT (altitude)

47A portugal's place IBERIA (the iberian peninsula, or iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of europe, and includes modern day spain, portugal, andorra and gibraltar)
49A the march king SOUSA (john philip sousa was an american composer and conductor of american military marches)
51A _____-caps (nestle candy) SNO
52A row c abbr., maybe IND (as in voting booth... independent)

59A dweller along the arabian sea OMANI (from oman)

63A. mullally of "will & grace" MEGAN
64A zz top, e.g. TRIO
66A dummy mortimer SNERD (one of the late, great amerivan ventriloquist edgar bergan's 'dummy's')
3D jumble MISH-MASH

5D figure that's squared in a common formula RADIUS (as in math formula AÅ = π r² [{the area of a} {circle} is equal to "pi" {3.1416...} {times the} radius squared])
10D place for an umbrella BEACH
22D some japanese-americans NISEI [NEE-say]

28D a singing jackson JANET
33D tv handyman bob VILA

34D kind of diagram TREE (as in family tree)
36D the pineapple island LANAI
41D cratchit boy TINY TIM

45D submit, as homework TURN IN

47D under consideration IN MIND

48D dizzy gillespie's genre BOP

51D school locator? SONAR (as in school of fish)

54D pierre, frangois, etc. NOMS (french names)

61D brillo alternative S.O.S. (Soap On Steel scrubbing pads)

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n the "your mileage may vary" category:
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best clue of the day:

best answer of the day:

worst clue of the day:

worst answer of the 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
1A prefix with sphere 5A assigned stars to 10A thriving time 14A jewish ritual 15A visibly stunned 16A humorist bombeck 17A ornery sort 18A cutoffs fabric 19A yemeni port 20A striptease business? 23A drive-thru convenience, perhaps 24A having lunch, say 25A "_____ to say this, but..." 26A some auto deals 28A stereotypical sandwich board diner 31A young 'un 32A younger brother, say 33A knight's attendant 35. wrestling business? 39A former "dateline nbc" co-host jane 40A beanery sign 43. cockpit abbr. 46A carefully arranged 47A portugal's place 49. the march king 51A _____-caps (nestle candy) 52A row c abbr., maybe 53A comb business? 58A volcano known to locals as mongibello 59A dweller along the arabian sea 60A "darn!" 62A goatee site 63A. mullally of "will & grace" 64A zz top, e.g. 65A look after 66A dummy mortimer 67A thanksgiving side dish 1D "dancing with the stars" airer 2D one on a board 3D jumble 4D _____ buco 5D figure that's squared in a common formula 6D go-between 7D zesty flavor 8D cast-of-thousands film 9D floor model 10D place for an umbrella 11D tough time 12D mafia code of silence 13D unlike drone aircraft 21D reason to cry "alas!" 22D some japanese-americans 23D jungfrau or eiger 27D metro map feature 28D a singing jackson 29D bacchanalian revelry 30D polar drudge 33D tv handyman bob 34D kind of diagram 36D the pineapple island 37D expected in 38D sauce for some seafood 41D cratchit boy 42D bummed out 43D appearance 44D not be able to stomach 45D submit, as homework 47D under consideration 48D dizzy gillespie's genre 50D witness's place 51D school locator? 54D pierre, frangois, etc. 55D hood fighters 56D parakeet keeper 57D pseudo-cultured 61D brillo alternative

monday, october 29, 2007
fred piscop / will shortz

difficulty factor: this one was pretty much a walk in the park

theme: a slightly different parsing on common "-ation" words

• 17A GENE RATION
• 10D FORE STATION
• 56A REV ELATION
• 25D CARBO NATION

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oh, boy! almost an entire posting about one of my favorite subjects... 29D PIXIES

well, no... as interesting as pixies are, that's not gonna do it... how about 9D TAN LINES?!

that could almost do it, but... no... how 'bout... somethin' a tad closer t' me heart?

while beer is purportedly the beverage second only to water both in age and popularity, and the production of beer uses many varying ingredients, methods and traditions, all beer goes through a brewing process. which style of brewing discipline distinguishes the two major types: ale and 1D LAGER.

a starchy grain (typically barley, rice, wheat or corn - although others are used in different localities) is first "steeped" in water. enzymes are then added with flavoring agents (most typically hops, fruits, and herbs). at this stage the sugary concoction is called "wort". finally, the addition of yeast causes fermentation - the anaerobic conversion of sugar to carbon dioxide and alcohol - to occur.

ale is fermented "fast and high" (the ale yeast resides at or near the top of the vat under temperatures between 60 and 75 degrees fahrenheit for about a week) typically producing flavoring by-products called aromatic esters, which are described by aficionados as "grassy", "woody" and "fruity" among others. major ales include: bitter, amber ale, brown ale, pale ale, porter, stout, and wheat beer [doesn't that last term add an element of confusion?!]

lager - derived from the german word for "store" - on the other hand is brewed "low and slow" (the lager yeast resides at or near the bottom of the vat at temps ranging from 40 to 55 degrees fahrenheit for, in some cases, up to two weeks.) during the second phase of the lagering process, lasting one to three additional weeks, it is stored at temps just above freezing allowing it to clear some and mellow. the prolonged cooler conditions reduce the production of aromatic esters and other flavoring byproducts (allowing the bold hops flavor to be more apparent), and increase the carbonation, resulting in a more standardized "crisper" tasting beverage. while there are other (mostly germanic) lager styles, pilsner is by far the most widely produced, especially in america. bock, vienna, märzen and pale lagers also hold a measure of lager popularity.

although there are exceptions, typically ales and lagers are restricted by taxation laws (!) to containing between 3% and 6% alcohol by volume (abv).

i'm thirsty! (and... it's five o'clock somewhere!)

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. started a cigarette 6. sail supporter 10. rooters14. left one's seat15. gumbo vegetable16. track shape17. allotment of heredity units?19. parks who pioneered in civil rights20. our language: abbr.21. took the blue ribbon22. room to maneuver24. nuclear power apparatus27. top 10 tunes28. hole-punching tool29. slender cigar 33. prefix with -hedron36. is false to the world37. get from _____ (progress slightly)38. battle of the _____ (men vs. women)39. stadium section40. studied primarily, at college42. holder of 88 keys43. caveman's era44. vintage automotive inits.45. tennis great arthur46. mediums' meetings 50. stewed to the gills53. king kong, e.g.54. lacto-_____-vegetarian55. sitarist shankar56. preacher's sky-high feeling?60. twistable cookie61. turn at roulette62. decaf brand63. give an alert64. direction of sunup65. sticky problem1. hearty brew2. jim carrey comedy "me, myself & _____"3. kingdom east of fiji4. milk for all its worth5. pay-_____-view6. travel by car7. closely related (to)8. sign at a sellout9. bikini wearers' markings10. tv channel for golfers?11. state frankly12. shuttle-launching org.13. murder18. delinquent g.i.23. greek h's25. pasta-and-potato-loving country?26. former rival of pan am27. safe place29. mischievous sprite30. director kazan31. claim on property32. prefix with dynamic33. scots' caps34. coup d'_____35. japanese p.m. during w.w. ii36. mantel38. equine-looking fish41. take a siesta42. split _ soup 44. fishing line winder46. paid out47. nickels and dimes48. call to mind49. sunken ship finder50. furrowed part of the head51. dr. zhivago's love52. 1964 dave clark five song "glad all _____'53. hertz rival57. mileage rating org.58. cleopatra's biter59. eastern "way"