dannmann's NYT crossword puzzle ramblings

monday, december 03, 2007

harvey estes / will shortz

ny times online premium crossword puzzle

difficulty factor: none to speak of...

theme: powerful words

20A STRONG

36A MIGHTY

49A POTENT

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in the "notes of record" category
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in the "not necessarily explained just by the answer" category
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in 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 part of a molecule 5A supply-and-demand subj. 9A pepsi and rc 14A prom night transportation 15A furry tunneler 16A face-to-face exams 17A alda of "what women want" 18A othello's false friend 19A white-plumed wader 20A profanity, e.g. 23A 2007 film "_ and the real girl" 24A "bonanza" star greene 25A sit behind bars 28A memorial designer maya _ 29A cowboy boot attachment 32A madonna title role 33A flies off the handle 35A mail carrier's beat: abbr. 36A 1995 woody alien comedy 39A number before "ignition ... liftoff!" 40A bank robber's job 41A dressed to the _ 42A arctic floater 44A suffix with meth- 45A "no exit" playwright 46A becomes frayed 48A hand protector 49A classic "jeopardy!" category 54A henhouse perch 55A earthenware jar 56A college in new rochelle, n.y. 57A from days of yore 58A bring up, as children 59A be certain about 60A saltine brand 61A home of the invaders in wells's "the war of the worlds" 62A snaky swimmers 1D self-pitying cry 2D pinball foul 3D sharif of "doctor zhivago" 4D monument carved from a single stone 5D settler from a foreign land 6D snowman's eyes 7D olympic gymnast korbut 8D nighttime advertising sign, maybe 9D _ de lion, epithet for richard i 10D church hymn accompaniers 11D easily read type 12D away from the wind 13D lander at j.f.k., once 21D football's broadway joe 22D dead duck 25D brit's service discharge 26D sheeplike 27D golfer named a.p. male athlete of the year four times 28D senior moment, e.g. 30D pure-and-simple 31D witherspoon of "walk the line" 33D cloudburst 34D beethoven specialty 37D have a hankering 38D off-road two-wheeler 43D gird oneself 45D indian instruments 47D prudential rival 48D grinding tooth 49D extremity of the earth 50D "not guilty,"for one 51D companionless 52D hydroxyl-carbon compound 53D toothed tools 54D peri gilpin's "frasier" role

SUNDAY, december 02, 2007
seth a. abel / will shortz
car talk
ny times online premium crossword puzzle

difficulty factor: i don't know cars as well as some, so this on had me stumblin' a bit

title/theme: car talk: there are car makers names in the clues and car model names in the common-expression answers...

23A ford purchased online?
INTERNET EXPLORER

16D reliable suzuki?
TRUSTY SIDEKICK

113A one of the first buicks to roll off the line?
TWENTIETH CENTURY

51D half-assembled mitsubishi?
PARTIAL ECLIPSE

38A honda owned by one of the simpsons?
HOMER'S ODYSSEY

58A city dweller's acura?
URBAN LEGEND

80A genuine isuzu?
REAL TROOPER

96A tiny volkswagon?
MINIATURE GOLF

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in the "notes of record" category
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i think seth put t'gether an amusing puzzle for t'day. not crazy hard, but there were a few things i tripped over and still i clung to... when am i gonna learn?!

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in the "not necessarily explained just by the answer" category
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1A marx's collaborator on "the communist manifesto" ENGELS
7A it's beyond repair TOTAL LOSS

16A abbr. on a food package NT. WT. (net weight)

20A await LOOK TO

21A so that one might IN ORDER TO

22A fort _, captured by u.s. forces in 1814 ERIE (fort erie was the first british fort to be constructed as part of a network developed after the french and indian war was concluded. it is located on the southern edge of the town of fort erie, ontario, canada directly across the niagara river from buffalo, new york)

28A quick outing on the links NINE (as in nine holes... as opposed to all eighteen)

30A carrier to tokyo ANA (all nippon airways co., ltd. is an airline headquartered in tokyo, japan. it is the country's second-largest domestic and international airline with services to 49 destinations in japan and 22 international routes)

31A french spread PATE (pâté)

33A it's needed to find the right key EAR (as in ... musical key)

36A like some diets NO-SALT

49A wool source ALPACA
56A michelin guide listing INN (yes, the informative regional guides are from the tire people!)
60A fast www hookup D.S.L. (d.s.l. originally stood for 'digital subscriber loop', although in recent years, many have adopted 'digital subscriber line' as a more marketing-friendly term)

62A kind of kick ONSIDE (inside kick is a term used in american football for a type of kickoff in which the ball is kicked a shorter distance than usual in order for the kicking team to be able to regain possession of the ball)

63A lolling AT EASE

65A old jewish villages SHTETLS (shtetl (yiddish, 'town'... typically a small town with a large jewish population in pre-holocaust central and eastern europe)

70A home pregnancy checker, e.g. TEST KIT
78A when doubled, a much-married celebrity ZSA (zsa zsa gabor-belge-hilton-sanders-hutner-cosden-ryan-o'hara-de alba-von anhalt)
87A tots'wheels TRIKES
92A not safe to skate on, say THIN
93A go downhill fast SCHUSS
101A hanukkah treats LATKES (latkes [or latkas] [yiddish] are thin pan-fried cakes of grated potato and egg, often flavoured with grated onion: potatoe pancakes)

103A board honcho C.E.O. (chief executive officer)

104A wall st. debuts I.P.O'S (initial public offerings [of company stock])

105A ore. neighbor CAL (oregon... california)

106A sleep _ ON IT

108A o.t. book EZEK (old testament... ezekiel)

111A s. amer. land ECUA. (ecuador)

120A 1983 stephen king thriller CHRISTINE
121A bad way to be caught IN A LIE

2D emphatic refusal NO! NO! NO!

3D stadium cheer GO TEAM

5D photocopier tray size: abbr. LTR. (letter size... 8.5 x 11 inches)

6D _ of God SON

8D scott turow's first book ONE L
9D study of poisons: abbr. TOX. (toxicology)

10D dadaist jean ARP
11D "bad" cholesterol, initially L.D.L. (low-density lipoprotein)

12D nuevo _, mexican state bordering texas LEON
16D space clouds NEBULAE
19D second place from the right TENS

24D big name in stationery EATON
39D emmy winner for "roots" ED ASNER
40D size approximation YEA BIG

43D without SANS (french, 'without')

48D weekly 90-min. show S.N.L. (saturday night live)

50D rachel's older sister LEAH (leah [hebrew, "weary; tired"]... is the first wife of the hebrew patriarch jacob and mother of six of the twelve tribes of israel. the younger sister rachel [hebrew: "ewe" or possibly "innocence and gentility of a rose" or "lovely"]... is the second and favorite wife of jacob. all that and they were... first cousins... hmmm...)

52D III preceders: abbr. JRS.

55D "_ to wake up," 2006 oscar-winning song by melissa etheridge I NEED have a listen... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djP
-c7d_Oeo )

59D prefix with science NEURO-

62D either sister starring in 2004's "new york minute" OLSEN
66D exhaust TIRE OUT

68D genoa's palazzo san _ GIORGIO
69D sevilla's home ESPANA

71D what descartes thought of? IDEE (rené 'the father of modern philosophy" descartes was a highly influential french philosopher, mathematician, scientist, and writer... 'idee' is french for 'idea')

81D cable carrier? TRAM
83D old dodge ARIES
87D poetic preposition THRO

94D rendering, say SKETCH
95D question following "oh, yeah?!" SEZ WHO?

99D performance artist anderson LAURIE (look/listen and tell me what you thought: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hhm0NHhCBg i'm not sure i get it at all)

102D they may have a ball SEERS
110D _ reader UTNE (utne reader is an american bimonthly magazine that mixes original articles with items collected and reprinted from generally alternative media sources, including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music, and dvds which tend to focus on emerging cultural trends)
111D ministre d'_ ETAT (french, 'minister of state')

114D lao-_ TSE (lao-tse, chinese, literally "old mmster" [also lao tzu. lao tze, and other variations] was a philosopher of ancient china and an important figure in taoism (also called daoism) and was credited with writing the central taoist work the tao te ching "the way of the tao")

115D "_ magic!" IT'S

116D winter autobahn hazard EIS (autobahn... german roadway... german, 'eis' : 'ice')

117D hamburger's one EIN (german, 'one')

118D wichita-to-omaha dir. NNE

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in 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 marx's collaborator on "the communist manifesto" 7A it's beyond repair 16A abbr. on a food package 20A await 21A so that one might 22A fort _, captured by u.s. forces in 1814 23A ford purchased online? 25A it's measured in degrees 26A generic comic strip diner 27A word with night or right 28A quick outing on the links 29A consumes 30A carrier to tokyo 31A french spread 33A it's needed to find the right key 36A like some diets 38A honda owned by one of the simpsons? 42A errs 44A _ bien phu, vietnam 45A group of the same race or culture 47A parts of the lunar landscape 49A wool source 52A bump 53A major oil source 56A michelin guide listing 57A "avast!" 58A city dweller's acura? 60A fast www hookup 61A bring in 62A kind of kick 63A lolling 65A old jewish villages 67A standard 70A home pregnancy checker, e.g. 73A camera components 75A bet 77A it's set partly at the temple of vulcan 78A when doubled, a much-married celebrity 80A genuine isuzu? 83A like a pop fly 84A not feel oneself 85A uncut 86A made (off) 87A tots'wheels 88A _-roman 90A traduce 92A not safe to skate on, say 93A go downhill fast 96A tiny volkswagen? 101A hanukkah treats 103A board honcho 104A wall st. debuts 105A ore. neighbor 106A sleep _ 108A o.t. book 110A broadway's hagen 111A s. amer. land 112A all ears 113A one of the first buicks to roll off the line? 119A religious statue locale 120A 1983 stephen king thriller 121A bad way to be caught 122A what a rake may do 123A party throwers 1D he ascended to heaven in a whirlwind, in II kings 2D emphatic refusal 3D stadium cheer 4D makes (out) 5D photocopier tray size: abbr. 6D _ of god 7D like nobles 8D scott turow's first book 9D study of poisons: abbr. 10D dadaist jean 11D "bad" cholesterol, initially 12D nuevo _, mexican state bordering texas 13D sen. hatch 14D they listen to dictators 15D most upset 16D space clouds 17D reliable suzuki? 18D booby trap component 19D second place from the right 24D big name in stationery 31D compare the costs of 32D steaming along, maybe 33D paved road: sp. 34D burning issue? 35D kidney-related 37D admirals' commands 39D emmy winner for "roots" 40D size approximation 41D time long past 43D without 46D overdrawn account? 48D weekly 90-min. show 49D nails 50D rachel's older sister 51D half-assembled mitsubishi? 52D ill preceders: abbr. 54D improve 55D "_ to wake up," 2006 oscar-winning song by melissa etheridge 58D oust 59D prefix with science 62D either sister starring in 2004's "new york minute" 64D kind of contest 66D exhaust 68D genoa's palazzo san _ 69D sevilla's home 71D what descartes thought of? 72D squirts 74D meager 76D understanding 78D turn back 79D dear _ 81D cable carrier? 82D thing of the past 83D old dodge 87D poetic preposition 89D teeth do it 91Dsuffix with serpent 92D rapper _ shakur 94D rendering, say 95D question following "oh, yeah?!" 97D service charges? 98D cabalistic 99D performance artist anderson 100D skinned 102D they may have a ball 106D voiced 107D pick-up spot? 109D furrow 110D _ reader 111D ministre d'_ 114D lao-_ 115D "_ magic!" 116D winter autobahn hazard 117D hamburger's one 118D wichita-to-omaha dir.