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sailboat

NY Times, Sun, Dec 14, 2003 BRANCHING OUT

Author: Elizabeth C. Gorski / Will Shortz
Wordplay | Return to Normal mode | Turn on Clue Tracker | | (XPF defined)
Rows: 21, Columns: 21, Words: 143, Blocks: 80, Avg Word Len: 5.05, Missing: { none — this is a pangram }, Scrabble score: 554 (avg 1.53)
Open squares: 135, Cheater squares: 4, FITB: 9, XRef: 2 (indicated by + in grid below), Freshness Factor™: 60.4 (26.6 Sun. %-ile), NYT Across Lite file
This is puzzle 119 of 174 for Ms. Gorski — solos: 174, collaborations: 0, Sundays: 48

JimH notes: I believe this is the first puzzle where solvers draw an image by connecting the dots in alphabetical order.
1
L
2
E
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C
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H
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S
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E
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A
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F
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R
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K
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+
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H
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C
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D
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N
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B
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M
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J
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M
118
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121
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T
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123
H
O
R
S
E
O
P
E
R
A
S
124
E
R
T
E
© 2003, The New York Times
Unique 1 other 2 others 3 others 4 others
Across Down
1. Creepy sort, for short : LECH
5. View from a lighthouse : SEA
8. Lobster ___ diavolo : FRA
11. Pit stop can : STP
14. Fountain treat : MALT
18. Native Nebraskan : OTOE
19. Antiapartheid org. : ANC
20. Scale notes : RES
21. Onassis, in tabloids : ARI
22. Skating star Kulik : ILIA
23. "___ it the truth!" : AINT
24. Oxford, for one: Abbr. : HMO
25. Phone no. add-on : EXT
26. Magazine article : GUN
27. Healthful retreats : SPAS
28. Sandy tract, in Britain : DENE
29. Movie cowboy Lash ___ : LARUE
31. "Halt!" to a salt : AVAST
33. What that isn't : THIS
34. Mortimer, a real dummy : SNERD
36. Maximally chi-chi : SNAZZIEST
38. Clear the slate : ERASE
39. No longer stops? : UNCORKS
41. Tuckered out : WEARY
42. Airport city near Montreal : MIRABEL
44. Rover and Tabby, e.g. : PETNAMES
46. Tiny Tim played it : UKE
47. Scrooge overcame this : MEANNESS
48. Get-up : TOGS
49. Software program, briefly : APP
51. Sermon subject : SIN
53. Cozy retreat : NEST
54. Noodlehead : SCHMO
56. N.F.C. gridder : BUC
57. Lush : SOT
59. Diets : SLIMS
62. Attach with laces : TIEON
63. Gift exchange requirement: Abbr. : RCPT
65. Not an orig. : REPR
66. Undeclared : TACIT
67. It's heard in Islamabad : URDU
68. Kind of date : DUE
69. ___-Mère-Église, France : STE
71. Abu ___ Bay, site of Horatio Nelson's naval victory, 1798 : QIR
73. "The Gift of the Magi," e.g. : TALE
74. Sgt. and sgt. maj. : NCOS
75. Done, to Donne : OER
76. Rainbow : ARC
77. Itinerary abbr. : RTE
78. Allure competitor : ELLE
79. King in a 1978 pop hit : TUT
80. Pudding ingredient : FIG
81. Antique auto : REO
82. Directly across from: Abbr. : OPP
84. Spearheaded : LED
85. Sound from a wok : SSS
86. Hurrah for El Farruco : OLE
87. Leg bone : TIBIA
89. Hide-hair link : NOR
90. Timeline info: Abbr. : YRS
91. Salute : HAIL
92. Starting Harvard law students : ONELS
93. Without exception, after "to" : AMAN
95. Choir practice : SCALES
97. Croupiers' tools : RAKES
98. "Leave me alone!" : LAYOFF
101. Colors in cave paintings : OCHRES
102. Bourbon and others: Abbr. : STS
103. "Law & Order" type: Abbr. : DET
105. "Nobody's Fool" star Paul : NEWMAN
107. Window item : BLIND
108. Skater Midori : ITO
109. Satisfied : MET
111. One with a thick skin : RHINO
112. Ballet leap : JETE
113. Seasonal air that celebrates this puzzle's theme : OTANNENBAUM
118. Carbon compound : ENOL
119. Love symbol : EROS
120. Not give a definite answer : STRINGALONG
121. Huge win : ROUT
122. Beach shades : TANS
123. Western-themed films : HORSEOPERAS
124. Art Deco designer : ERTE
 1. Fills : LOADSUP
2. Stephen, in France : ETIENNE
3. With 15-Down, what to do to reveal this puzzle's theme : CONNECTTHEDOTS
4. Subject to external controls : HETERONOMOUS
5. Satirist Mort : SAHL
6. How lemmings move : ENMASSE
7. It's often squirreled away : ACORN
8. Succumb to stage fright : FREEZEUP
9. Name fit for a king? : REX
10. Dancing siblings : ASTAIRES
11. Big stories : SAGAS
12. "Would I lie?!" : TRUSTME
13. Amount of eggnog : PINT
14. Botch the subtitles, maybe : MISTRANSLATE
15. See 3-Down : ALPHABETICALLY
16. Is a go-between : LIAISES
17. Fringe material : TASSELS
30. Motor City org. : UAW
32. "Oy ___!" : VEY
35. Chinese zodiac sign : DRAGON
37. Drummer Starkey, Ringo's son : ZAK
38. English poet Dowson : ERNEST
40. Tour de France units: Abbr. : KMS
43. "At Seventeen" singer Janis : IAN
45. It holds one cup : SAUCER
47. Alphabet sextet : MNOPQR
50. Narc's find, for short : PCP
52. British verb ending : ISE
54. Evel doings? : STUNTS
55. Ring setting : CIRCUS
56. Noted family of Flemish painters : BRUEGELS
58. Like some chords : TRITONAL
60. One whose job is a grind? : MILLER
61. War horses : STEEDS
64. Winter Palace residents : TSARINAS
65. Sprang back : RECOILED
68. Linen closet stack : DOILIES
70. Game show host who was once a CBC newsman : TREBEK
72. Car tower : REPOMAN
80. Gave birth, as on a ranch : FOALED
83. "God bless us every one," e.g. : PRAYER
87. Trattoria desserts : TORTONIS
88. Rally : ASSEMBLE
91. It will hold your horses : HARNESS
94. The boonies : NOWHERE
95. White of the eye : SCLERA
96. Ancient Greek tunic : CHITON
99. Key of Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2 : FMINOR
100. Disperse : FANOUT
101. Antiquaire's item : OBJET
102. Brenda of the comics : STARR
104. "Coffee, ___ Me?" : TEAOR
106. Nick of "Lorenzo's Oil" : NOLTE
108. Stick ___ : ITTO
110. ___ sandwich : TUNA
113. Kyrgyz city : OSH
114. Phoenix-to-Flagstaff dir. : NNE
115. Mania subject? : EGO
116. Brief time out? : NAP
117. Some old roadsters : MGS
text

Analysis

Puzzle has MIRROR crossword symmetry.

There are 26 circles and 0 rebus squares.
The grid has 4 cheater squares.

Puzzle has 14 unique words:
BRUEGELS CHITON HETERONOMOUS HORSEOPERAS MEANNESS MISTRANSLATE MNOPQR OTANNENBAUM QIR REPR SNAZZIEST STRINGALONG TORTONIS TRITONAL

StatsAverage Values by Day of Week — 15 x 15 only21 x 21 only
This puzzleMonTueWedThuFriSatSun
Blocks8037.537.437.436.731.531.074.2
Words14377.176.976.574.869.969.1139.5
Open Squares13569.869.569.973.090.793.6123.2
Scrabble Avg1.531.551.571.581.571.541.531.54
Avg Word Length5.054.874.884.905.045.555.635.26
Freshness Factor™60.450.252.654.458.868.170.863.5

Distribution of answer words by length

CountLengthWords
463ANC APP ARC ARI BUC DET DUE EGO EXT FIG FRA GUN HMO IAN ISE ITO KMS LED MET MGS NAP NNE NOR OER OLE OPP OSH PCP QIR REO RES REX RTE SEA SIN SOT SSS STE STP STS TUT UAW UKE VEY YRS ZAK
284AINT AMAN DENE ELLE ENOL EROS ERTE HAIL ILIA ITTO JETE LECH MALT NCOS NEST OTOE PINT RCPT REPR ROUT SAHL SPAS TALE TANS THIS TOGS TUNA URDU
205ACORN AVAST BLIND ERASE LARUE NOLTE OBJET ONELS RAKES RHINO SAGAS SCHMO SLIMS SNERD STARR TACIT TEAOR TIBIA TIEON WEARY
196CHITON CIRCUS DRAGON ERNEST FANOUT FMINOR FOALED LAYOFF MILLER MNOPQR NEWMAN OCHRES PRAYER SAUCER SCALES SCLERA STEEDS STUNTS TREBEK
127DOILIES ENMASSE ETIENNE HARNESS LIAISES LOADSUP MIRABEL NOWHERE REPOMAN TASSELS TRUSTME UNCORKS
108ASSEMBLE ASTAIRES BRUEGELS FREEZEUP MEANNESS PETNAMES RECOILED TORTONIS TRITONAL TSARINAS
19SNAZZIEST
311HORSEOPERAS OTANNENBAUM STRINGALONG
212HETERONOMOUS MISTRANSLATE
214ALPHABETICALLY CONNECTTHEDOTS

Letter distribution
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
345117484582013181128261012940321112132
Scrabble Score: 123 45810

Freshness Factor

FF: 60.4 — 53.1 percentile, 26.6 Sunday percentile

This chart lists the most unusual to the most common answer words. Click here for an explanation.

CountWords
0BRUEGELS CHITON HETERONOMOUS HORSEOPERAS MEANNESS MISTRANSLATE MNOPQR OTANNENBAUM QIR REPR SNAZZIEST STRINGALONG TORTONIS TRITONAL
1ALPHABETICALLY CONNECTTHEDOTS DOILIES FMINOR FOALED FREEZEUP MIRABEL PETNAMES RECOILED UNCORKS
2CIRCUS DENE FANOUT LIAISES MILLER NOWHERE RCPT
3LAYOFF LOADSUP REPOMAN TEAOR VEY
4ASSEMBLE ASTAIRES KMS NEWMAN ONELS SAUCER TRUSTME
5DRAGON HARNESS OBJET OCHRES PCP PRAYER SCLERA SLIMS STUNTS TREBEK TSARINAS ZAK
6TASSELS
7BLIND BUC
8TIEON
9SCALES
10ETIENNE
12WEARY
13ENMASSE
14JETE OSH
15GUN RAKES
17MGS TOGS
18APP STEEDS
19OPP
20FIG TIBIA
21ANC
22LECH PINT
24LARUE
25AMAN RHINO
27SAGAS URDU
28ITTO
29DET UAW
30HAIL
31EXT
32AVAST SNERD TACIT
33SCHMO
34ROUT
35ERNEST NCOS
37FRA
38ACORN THIS
39ILIA
41STARR TANS
42NOLTE SAHL
43MALT UKE
44ISE
46DUE
47REX
52YRS
54TUNA
56ENOL
60HMO
65AINT TUT
71SOT
77STP
79SPAS
80MET
83SIN
84NAP
96LED OTOE
99TALE
100STS
104ERTE
105ELLE
118IAN REO
120OER
125SSS
126NNE
130ARC
132NEST
140ITO
146RTE
151STE
153NOR
163SEA
164EROS
166RES
174ERASE
181EGO
182ARI
243OLE

Thumbnails for Sunday, December 14, 2003

Various thumbnail views are available:

BLOCKS: 80, WORDS: 143
OPEN SQUARES: 135
VOWELS: 139, CONS: 219, Y: 3
SCRABBLE AVERAGE: 1.53
FRESHNESS FACTOR: 60.4

With answers

LECHSEAFRASTPMALT
OTOEANCRESARIILIA
AINTHMOEXTGUNSPAS
DENELARUEAVASTTHIS
SNERDSNAZZIESTERASE
UNCORKSWEARYMIRABEL
PETNAMESUKEMEANNESS
TOGSAPPSINNEST
SCHMOBUCSOTSLIMS
TIEONRCPTREPRTACIT
URDUDUESTEQIRTALE
NCOSOERARCRTEELLE
TUTFIGREOOPPLED
SSSOLETIBIANORYRS
HAILONELSAMAN
SCALESRAKESLAYOFF
OCHRESSTSDETNEWMAN
BLINDITOMETRHINO
JETEOTANNENBAUMENOL
EROSSTRINGALONGROUT
TANSHORSEOPERASERTE
LECHSEAFRASTPMALT
OTOEANCRESARIILIA
AINTHMOEXTGUNSPAS
DENELARUEAVASTTHIS
SNERDSNAZZIESTERASE
UNCORKSWEARYMIRABEL
PETNAMESUKEMEANNESS
TOGSAPPSINNEST
SCHMOBUCSOTSLIMS
TIEONRCPTREPRTACIT
URDUDUESTEQIRTALE
NCOSOERARCRTEELLE
TUTFIGREOOPPLED
SSSOLETIBIANORYRS
HAILONELSAMAN
SCALESRAKESLAYOFF
OCHRESSTSDETNEWMAN
BLINDITOMETRHINO
JETEOTANNENBAUMENOL
EROSSTRINGALONGROUT
TANSHORSEOPERASERTE
LECHSEAFRASTPMALT
OTOEANCRESARIILIA
AINTHMOEXTGUNSPAS
DENELARUEAVASTTHIS
SNERDSNAZZIESTERASE
UNCORKSWEARYMIRABEL
PETNAMESUKEMEANNESS
TOGSAPPSINNEST
SCHMOBUCSOTSLIMS
TIEONRCPTREPRTACIT
URDUDUESTEQIRTALE
NCOSOERARCRTEELLE
TUTFIGREOOPPLED
SSSOLETIBIANORYRS
HAILONELSAMAN
SCALESRAKESLAYOFF
OCHRESSTSDETNEWMAN
BLINDITOMETRHINO
JETEOTANNENBAUMENOL
EROSSTRINGALONGROUT
TANSHORSEOPERASERTE
LECHSEAFRASTPMALT
OTOEANCRESARIILIA
AINTHMOEXTGUNSPAS
DENELARUEAVASTTHIS
SNERDSNAZZIESTERASE
UNCORKSWEARYMIRABEL
PETNAMESUKEMEANNESS
TOGSAPPSINNEST
SCHMOBUCSOTSLIMS
TIEONRCPTREPRTACIT
URDUDUESTEQIRTALE
NCOSOERARCRTEELLE
TUTFIGREOOPPLED
SSSOLETIBIANORYRS
HAILONELSAMAN
SCALESRAKESLAYOFF
OCHRESSTSDETNEWMAN
BLINDITOMETRHINO
JETEOTANNENBAUMENOL
EROSSTRINGALONGROUT
TANSHORSEOPERASERTE
LECHSEAFRASTPMALT
OTOEANCRESARIILIA
AINTHMOEXTGUNSPAS
DENELARUEAVASTTHIS
SNERDSNAZZIESTERASE
UNCORKSWEARYMIRABEL
PETNAMESUKEMEANNESS
TOGSAPPSINNEST
SCHMOBUCSOTSLIMS
TIEONRCPTREPRTACIT
URDUDUESTEQIRTALE
NCOSOERARCRTEELLE
TUTFIGREOOPPLED
SSSOLETIBIANORYRS
HAILONELSAMAN
SCALESRAKESLAYOFF
OCHRESSTSDETNEWMAN
BLINDITOMETRHINO
JETEOTANNENBAUMENOL
EROSSTRINGALONGROUT
TANSHORSEOPERASERTE

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