0:06:52
A pretty fancy Monday, with a fun theme, and the verticality is a welcome change. Some of the secondary fill is nice, too, like ALCATRAZ (30A: Former penitentiary in San Francisco Bay), PARMESAN (46A: Grated cheese), NUANCE (25A: Shade of meaning), SCOFFS (7A: Expresses derision), and others.
Fun clue for USHER (38A: One with a leading role?), nice crossing of 68A: Imbecile (ASS) and 48D: Imbeciles (IDIOTS), and I'll give extra credit for any puzzle offering a 17A: ____ and tonic (GIN).
There's a little crosswordese, sure, but it's a solid puzzle today. Also, when's the last time you thought of KALKAN (23D: Alpo alternative?).
Good way to start the week.
- Horace
8:57
ReplyDeleteYes, the Mondays have been stepping it up a bit lately. The only thing that I'll add to your excellent review is that MANDM (51D Bit of candy that "melts in your mouth, not in your hand") looks strange written out.
Bravo, John Lieb, Bravo. I am even more enthusiastic about this one than you guys seem to be. I love the theme--especially the clue for it, and like Horace, I love the verticality. Nice how he worked a Python clue in with the European rulers. Lot's of little touches that connected with me for some reason or other: I have a recording of Steve and Eydie singing "Bei Mir Bist Du Schon," "I Shot the Sheriff" takes me back (even though I never thought it was that great a song), I liked the quaintness of LOTSA luck and "One LUMP or two." When I look it over again, I do see a lot of standard fare, but what do you expect for a Monday. The stellar theme makes it all good.
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