0:13:45
Not bad at all, and I love the theme!
Initially wanted "nose" for 1D: What dogs "shake hands" with, but Frannie thought I was probably reading a little too much into a human handshake, to think that it could involve as much information as whatever info a dog gets with a sniff, and she immediately corrected it to PAWS. And I guess 5D: Phonograph needle (STYLUS) might seem a little outdated to some, but it comforts me. And besides, you've got REN (7D: Stimpy's TV pal) right next to it, so that makes up for it, right? Or is that, too, already outdated? ... god I'm old... but hey! I'm not old enough to actually have listened to AMOS (9D: Half of an old radio comedy duo), so that's something, right?
I like the vertical tens, PEJORATIVE (11D: Disparaging) and NATUREWALK (28D: Activity led by a park ranger, perhaps). Also liked the clue/answer 53D: "Hot" lover (FLAME).
Not a ton of good stuff to call out, but very little bad to say either, and sometimes that's a very good thing.
Also, does this puzzle count for getting us one degree closer to KEVIN 45A: Bacon of "Mystic River"?
- Horace
~9:00 (Timed by an analog clock-on-the-wall.)
ReplyDelete42D Tennis judge's cry LET????? Of course, I originally had NET, but NOTWOSOUNDANIKE didn't quite work. Maybe I don't know enough about tennis. I liked 15A THEMET and 59A LOUSEUP, but like Horace mentions, not too much of note here, all in all. Oh, and 20A Natural seasoning SEASALT. I've never seen that before.
A "let" call is made when a serve hits the net, but still falls within the service box. It is not counted as a fault.
ReplyDeleteYeah, this puzzle was just all right. I too loved seeing PEJORATIVE in a puzzle. Liked GOYAS, but otherwise it just seemed OK. Like you said, though, Tom, not much to complain about. I mean, it did have ETC, ERIE (although with a better clue), TSAR, EONS, ESL, and AFRO--all of which are pretty crosswordy. But what can you expect for a Tuesday. Theme was pleasant enough, I guess.
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