0:6:10
Frannie and I usually alternate on the Monday puzzles, since they're too easy to work on together. When it's my week, I sometimes like to go as fast as I can. Today I decided I would try to zip through it, but then was greeted by (1A: Book after Jonah). I really ought to memorize all the books of the Bible in order, just like I've (tried to) memorize all the acceptable two-letter Scrabble words... But no matter, MICAH was filled in by crosses before I had time to worry about it.
Most of the answers in a Monday take only as long to fill in as it takes to thumb the letters (we solve with the NYT Puzzle App on an iPad Mini). Today, the theme answers were not immediately apparent, but, like MICAH, were mostly completed by the time I went back to look at the clues a second time. I have no idea what "SIUNITS" are, but I get that the theme answers were all two-words, the first beginning with "S," the second with "I." Meh. Not the greatest theme, but I suppose you've got to do something.
I liked SWAK (69A: Love letter abbr.), and USURP (54A: Take unrightfully) is a fun one. Didn't get EEL in this one, but did see STET (20A: Leave in, to a proofreader) and SSTS (27D: Booming jets of old, in brief). It's been a while since I've seen that one!
- Horace
Le Système international d'unités (SI Units) is a coherent and logical system of units of measurements that has been adopted by every nations in the world except for three rather backwards and primitive countries: Burma, Liberia, and the United States.
ReplyDeleteWhatever. Take your "systèmes" and yer "metrics" and get out and stay out! We're happy here with our hectares and cubits and whatnot. And besides, it only really matters when we try to work with other countries on joint projects, and then the resulting probe misses Mars or whatever by thousands of miles because someone thought a foot was a meter. And then you go and blame us! Well maybe we should only do joint projects with Burma and Liberia! That'd show ya!
ReplyDeleteNeanderthal...
ReplyDelete:)
ReplyDeleteIn the 4th grade, I learned that by the mid 1970s we'd all be using the metric system and speaking esperanto.
ReplyDeleteWell, we all know, of course, who keeps the metric system from being widely adopted by the greater U.S. citizenry. It's been used by American scientists for decades. I loved this puzzle, even though it took longer than a usual Monday for me. (I came in around 10 minutes.) I know about the SI system, but I stared at that last one space--what became the I--for well over a minute before I finally saw and comprehended the UNITS at the end of the answer. All of the theme answers were very good for a Monday. Hell, to have any bit of difficulty or interest at all in a Monday is a nice thing. I will be happy if I can go awhile now before I have to again write EDYS, ASLAN, or STET into a puzzle. (Like how I split an infinitive in that last sentence?)
ReplyDeleteYes, it's the same group that holds back the electric car, and rigs every Oscar night.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.hulu.com/watch/1183
ReplyDelete