0:07:11
This was a rare Monday puzzle wherein I understood the theme while solving, and used it to help me fill in theme answers quickly, although, I admit, I wasn't positive about the spelling of DOSVIDANIYA (24D: "Farewell, Vladimir!"). Even without that, though, I felt it played a little tougher than Mondays sometimes do. Actually, I finished with an error "BABe" for BABY (25D: Infant). Such are the perils of trying to solve for time. The squares get filled in, and I do not double-check them. My grandmother had a trivet on her wall that said "The hurrier I go, the behinder I get." I should, perhaps, keep that in mind more often. Lost at least 30 seconds looking for the mistake. Sheesh!
I enjoyed the theme well enough, and I loved the bluntness of the revealer clue - 34A: This puzzle's theme (GOODBYE). Sometimes it doesn't take much to amuse me. At first I was a little bothered by ACDUCTS (22A: They connect cooling units to rooms, in brief), even though it's perfectly fine fill (sometimes it doesn't take much to bother me, either…), but I liked it better when the next answer was BMOVIE (25A: Unmemorable low-budget film). Somehow, having all three single letters (A, B & C) seems better than just having one or two. Crazy? Probably.
I wish the clue for ONEMAN (20A: Kind of band) were "What can I do, I'm only ____?," but I guess that's another one I'll have to jot down in my virtual notepad.
Some of the usual stuff - EMIR, URSA, UTIL, ERIE, and a blast from the crosswordese past with OREL (16A: Pitcher Hershiser), but nothing terribly egregious. Plus, there's some interesting stuff, like LAPIS (1A: ____ lazuli), CHINK (23D: Armor flaw), TENPINS (45A: Bowling game), and DOUBLEDUP (30A: Bent over, as from pain).
A fine Monday.
- Horace
6:05. I liked that he came up with four ten-letter answers meaning goodbye, although I suppose you could spell DOSVIDANIYA in a number of different ways to fit in. The CIAO and TATA were nice mirrors as well. I liked CHAISE, Marvin GAYE, and ESSEX as well. The grid flows nicely, a lot of open space. Very nice Monday. BTW, I too lost time for a missed letter, namely the O in the Russian word, which I put in as A, which fit for with SHaRES. Like, you I didn't check the crosses.
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ReplyDeleteLAPIS is in the Bible nonstop, so, having read that rather dull work in its entirety I was able to fill that in right away. "Shares" for 26A Beaches? Strange choice. Horace, I'd starred 20A Kind of band (ONEMAN) as a clue that I enjoyed. When one thinks of a band, one rarely thinks of the one-man variety, no? That's a bygone talent. Is there anyone around that still does that, or was Dick Van Dyke the last? GOODBYE.
As it happens, Huygens, one of our good friends has such a talent, so we maybe think of it more than some people do -
ReplyDeletehttp://www.guitarmachine.com
And, in Colum's defense, I believe he merely glanced at SHaRES, saw it to be a word, and moved on, which is more than I can say, actually, for my error in GOODBeE.
Interesting. One never hears of a one-man band anymore. It's unfortunate, I guess, in a way. Your friend's is not the DVD variety of one-man band that I think of when I think of it, though, which is rare. DVD's version is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKTknLD9eWw. I can't say whether he actually plays anything, though. Can you?
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