Do the reverse in this case as it will tailor to your needs:
CODE
.special {}
.special tr {}
.special td {}
If you wish to combine it all into a single line with all matching attributes...
CODE
.special, .special tr, .special td {}
With this you'll need but a single class= in your table tag and that is all.
Some much older browsers (NetScape Navigator 4.x for example) however will not like this and will not render the <td>'s through this css unless you treat the tr's indivually in this way. Which would involve tagging the <tr>'s with a class if you wish to render the <td>'s through CSS using '.special TD'.
Additionally, if you are making ALL tables/cells/rows the same colour and want to make them all conform to your CSS, you can do a quick and diry way for it without any classing.
CODE
TABLE, TR, TD {}
or
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BODY TR, BODY TD {}