A certain laureate once told me, to thine own self be true. And what is true about this puzzle, is that I did it mostly mine own self. Horace was busy cooking up a storm, so I dedicated myself to unlocking the secrets of the grid. If being part of a team means solving most of a Sunday Times puzzle alone, then SOBEIT (52A). I had very little trouble or ALARMS (102A). If I had to give this puzzle a LETTERGRADE (24A), it would be B+. I will take a moment to mention a favorite clue or two: Senate cover-up TOGA (31D); Helps in a bad way ABETS (46D); [blank] passage NASAL (8D); and EXGI for Nov. 11 honoree (79D). I did not expect that. And, it's always nice to see ASIMOV (90D), "Nemesis novelist" mentioned. In addition to the smooth flow and very natural language of most of this puzzle, it offered some sage advice: Potential Consequences of a plan or decision one cannot reverse should be heeded prior to the time an action is effectuated. True dat.
~Frannie.
I enjoyed this puzzle. It had more flow than I expected looking at the grid. I particularly liked 113A: One with designs on women - DIOR. And Renee Fleming is a nice addition. I got LOOKBEFOREYOULEAP about 4 answers in, but it took a nice amount of time to get the long-winded version.
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ReplyDeleteI feel ya Frannie...I always have to solve these alone. And Colum, I also got LOOKBEFOREYOULEAP quickly and the long answer quite slowly. I got ASIMOV right away: Nemesis is one of my favorites by the master, along with many of his others. At first I had FORD for 49D, but things weren't going well over there until I changed it to OPEL, which worked much better, as you can imagine. I also enjoyed the NORTH vs. SOUTH clues, and the unusual clue for ACDC (56D Power option). Good Sunday puzzle and good time.
44:00 (I timed it by the digital clock display on my cell phone, so this is approximate). I wasn't feeling this one as much as you guys. It was a nice enough puzzle, I guess, but nothing really grabbed me. I am kind of an idiot, though (Not a new revelation to any of you, of course . . .). I looked up what I thought was a new word for me before realizing that aplus is really A+. So it goes.
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