Three theme answers suggest periods that would be difficult to schedule, without the fourth theme answer, CALENDARREFORM. I like EIGHTDAYSAWEEK and AMONTHOFSUNDAYS, but while I see how LASTWEEKTONIGHT fits the theme, I think it's a little OFF compared to the other two.
I've always enjoyed the fact that civil rights pioneer W.E.B. Du Bois' initials spell WEB (there's a W.E.B. Du Bois Research Institute where I work), so I'm positively inclined toward 1A, but the end result is still ATAD humdrum, so I give it a B.
My favorite clue in today's puzzle is 8A. Rant (TIRADE), which I like much better than 19A. Ranting (RAVING) for some reason.
I was surprised to see 28D. Google __ Viewer (tool for charting word frequency over time) (NGRAM) in the puzzle at all, never mind on a Monday. Not that it was difficult fill, but I didn't know people knew about it, or, rather, that the constructors would expect solvers to know about it. Have any of this blog's esteemed readers heard of it and/or used it?
OWIE (55D. Little injury, in baby talk) makes an appearance for the third day in a row today, which makes me wonder, what is the longest streak for a puzzle answer? I have a lot of questions today.
The grid includes a year's supply of abbreviations, with a prominent band across the middle starting at 36A (ETC, ATL, ISO, ROO). Maybe it's celebrate STENOS day??
~Frannie.
6:11
ReplyDeleteThis played hard for a Monday for me, partly because I did not know of the Google NGRAM viewer. And also because I have never heard of LASTWEEKTONIGHT, so I had to get quite a few crosses before I could guess it.
Another debut today from a young constructor. I like seeing so many new names doing puzzles!
8:27
ReplyDeleteI also never heard of the NGRAM or LASTWEEKTONIGHT, and I, too, thought this played a bit harder than most Mondays. Nice to see ASS right next to BRA. I didn't like INKER, but I do like EATME from one of my favorite books. I didn't really hit a SNAG during the solve, but it took me around three minutes longer than typical. Luckily, I'd heard of RODCAREW and was able to fill it in with only a couple of crosses, though I didn't know that bit of trivia associated with him.
4:24 (FWOE)
ReplyDeleteDefinitely ATAD harder than the usual Monday fare. I agree NGRAM is way out there for this early in the week. And that NW corner: WEB crossing ELOI and BLDG? Hoo boy. Even with the esteemed W.E.B. Dubois, I feel that's a bit much. My error came at OSU crossing ISO. I had Ore in place for a while, and when the U was put in, I didn't change the R. Also, it's weird that a STATIST is the opposite of a States' Rights believer.
6:29 (fast for me)
ReplyDeleteI did fill in NGRAM with few/no crosses. Although I haven't used it myself, I must have read about it on language blogs or something.
TORAH was another nice answer, as were WAT and ORGAN.