Friday, March 6, 2020

Friday, March 6, 2020, Caitlin Reid

0:14:26

The Turn continues in fine fashion with a fun-filled Friday offering from Ms. Reid. She threw in a little something for everyone today - a nod to the Boomers (or their parents) with HAIRTONIC (Men's grooming aid), to the Gen-Xers like yours truly with THECASBAH (Place "rocked" in a 1982 top ten hit), a gem for the "Crystal collectors, maybe" (NEWAGERS), and a raised MOCKTAIL to today's trend-setters. And to the one who doesn't find herself among those groups, "POORDEVIL."

Marianne MOORE


I always enjoy a nice "double clue," as we find in the NW ("Oath locale" for COURT and ALTAR), and I loved three of the four Downs in that quadrant. POLO is fine, but AUTO (An exhausted person might be on it) was unexpected, DRAFTY (Like a hospital gown, maybe) was oh so vivid, and STRAIGHTS (They're in good hands) was straight-up clever!

Another pair of clues that had me stumped for a while was "Threat bearing small arms?" and "Subject of a scandal, maybe." I had everything but the X for a minute or two, before finally getting SEXT. The clue for TREX, now that I get it, is hilarious.

Other QMCs that got a chuckle were "One famous for seeing double?" (NOAH) and "Old knockout?" (ETHER). And on the other side, "Sources of buzz" (HIVES) was also fun.

There's more I could mention, but IDONTHAVEALLDAY. It's been a great week of puzzles so far, and I'm already looking forward to tomorrow! (My money's on Ms. Weintraub.)

- Horace

4 comments:

  1. 6:00
    Here's hoping the ACPT goes forward as planned, especially if I'm at this time for a Friday! Great puzzle. STRAIGHTS was my favorite.

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    1. 6:00?!?! ... wow. Nice.

      And yes, here's hoping we all break puzzle five. :)

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  2. 18:19
    The "X" in the TREX/SEXT cross was my final entry. Brilliant cluing there. And STRAIGHTS ranked right up near the top for me, too. I tried MoldY where MEALY belongs at first, but it was fixed up with (most) crosses; I needed all crosses for BINET, a name that is known to me only after seeing it. I'd give a STINKEYE and then the HEAVE-ho to a MOCKTAIL, but maybe ITSME. Nice that TROU makes an appearance again. I don't know that I've ever seen one (although maybe that's what one calls what we have hanging off of our oven handle), but I was able to figure out TEATOWELS after getting the TEA____. Excellent puzzle today.

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  3. Very enjoyable puzzle today! Much excellent cluing. I too loved "They're in good hands" for STRAIGHT. Also enjoyed "Set out on the highway," although, as I've said before, I would abolish all question marks in puzzles. Nice to see Patrick Stewart and Miro make appearances! I was hoping for Izod for "Standard part of preppy attire," but I guess one can't have everything. "NEWAGERS" was a pleasant surprise for me. I was thinking of something related to weddings or anniversaries at first. Always nice to learn something new: not being at all musical, I had never really heard of BREVE. Fun solve!

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