Friday, August 23, 2013

Friday, August 23, 2013, Ian Livengood

0:41:15

Well, after I went through the acrosses and downs before handing it over to Frannie, there was precious little for her to go on. When she handed it back, it was three-quarters done! Together, we filled in the rest, ending in the difficult SE.

In addition to not giving Frannie much to work on in the beginning, I also hobbled her with some wrong answers. But can you blame me for thinking that "1A: Human-powered transport," might have been "bicycle" instead of PEDICAB? It's cool that both fit. I've got to believe Mr. Livengood knew that.

TSARISM (21A: Belief opposed by Communists) isn't the greatest word, but it is made better by its proximity to certain TOOLS (22A: Hammer and sickle). And Huygens will no doubt enjoy the symmetrical BRAPADS (9A: Lingerie enhancements) and SEXTAPE (57A: Potentially embarrassing video) (!). Also very good fill, I thought, was RIDESHOTGUN (40A: Not take a back seat to anyone?).

Did not enjoy WHOLEBIT (36D: Everything, with "the"). Who says that? And the definition for EPICWIN (56A: Improbable victory, in slang) didn't seem quite right, but 7D: Spring figure? (BOBBLEHEAD), 42D: Hides from Indians, maybe? (TEPEE), and 34A: Oral reports? (BURPS) were all satisfying gets. Plus, I learned a few things - JUBA is, apparently, the 25D: Capital of South Sudan, and ARIGATO (15A: Japanese "thanks") doesn't have a B in it. Go figure.

I don't know, it was a decent Friday, I guess. Some stuff I found a little boring (CARLOANS, OPENSECRET), but other stuff was good. I guess that's how it goes sometimes.

- Horace

5 comments:

  1. Yes! SE was where I got completely hung up too. I actually--miracle of miracles--did this one on the computer. My time was 48-something, which I think, unlike the online times in earlier week puzzles, is pretty accurate. (What I mean is that for easy or easyish puzzles negotiating the electronic fill slows me down considerably). It was about a half -hour to fill in all but that SE corner. Agree that WHOLEBIT was dreadful. I don't even think that is OK, especially for a Friday. Agree also on EPICWIN. As a 45-year sports fan, I call BS on that clue, as well. I swear I've seen BURPS before with that exact clue. It was more impressive the first time. I'd call it a sub-par Friday. I love to struggle with the weekend puzzles, but I also love to feel very satisfied when I finally solve them. Struggle on this was moderate; satisfaction was meagre.

    ReplyDelete
  2. And, Horace, come on, BICYCLE for "Human-powered transport" in a Friday puzzle?!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I did enjoy BRAPADS and SEXTAPE. I thought that 38A Orange entree, informally (MACNCHEESE) would be something that englishteacher59 would get pretty quickly for a reason that we all probably know. I also didn't enjoy either WHOLEBIT or EPICWIN, neither of which I've ever heard in real life. The SE was very difficult, but it eventually got filled in. I didn't know how Frannie would like SWABS. Now...to the hellish Saturday puzzle....

    ReplyDelete
  4. Not so hellish this week. I would comment on it if the proprietors of this site would ever post a review.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hmm.. I think I might know why I had "miracle of miracles" in my head when I wrote the reviews today... i had read these comments, but hadn't replied yet.

    ReplyDelete