0:06:21
If I were faster with the thumbs this could have been a record. Very little resistance was put up by this one. I started with the downs, and when I checked the long crosses they were almost all done. Except, I guess, for CENSUSTAKER (47A: Decennial official). I couldn't make heads or tails of the clue, so I really did need for it to be pretty much completed by crosses.
The theme is great, in my opinion. A simple phrase - COUNTEREXAMPLES (58A: They disprove claims … or 17-, 23-, 38- and 47-Across, in a way?) - is given a twist to define occupations that require counting. Very nice.
In the fill, I don't count too many grumblers. Maybe TOS, TSOS, and ANE, but nothing truly hatable, and there's some very nice bonus fill in MOCCASIN (29D: Comfortable footwear), PRATFALL (18D: Buster Keaton specialty), and SULTAN (45D: Ottoman bigwig) (It's not agha or emir!).
All in all, I count this as a pretty nice Monday.
- Horace
p.s. It's a John Lieb twofer today, as he also has the syndicated.
7:46
ReplyDeleteHorace's father and I were just mentioning ASTA yesterday as appearing quite often in the Telegram puzzle. I think that we decided that neither of us has ever seen anything with the animal in it. I agree that this was a fine Monday. I like TILDE and the cross of ZERO/ZAGAT, and any mention of Jessica ALBA is fine with me. It could be blue material at 30A Going _____ (bickering) (ATIT), but it isn't.
5:40. Don't know why this one took as long as it did. I agree with H that nothing was terribly difficult except CENSUSTAKER. I broke my plan of going only with the downs, which hurt because I couldn't spell ASSISI (despite having been very close to there in the last couple of weeks). Lacking much to grumble at on this one, I'd also like to point out how yesterday's puzzle was linked to my two weeks in Italy: La Dolce Vita setting (ROME), and the clue for the CLIO, which was the car we drove around Italy. I may be talking about Italy some more in the upcoming days. You know... because, well. Italy.
ReplyDeleteHuygens - I think that's the dog in The Thin Man movies, and if so, you should watch one or two. They're good.
ReplyDeleteColum - Ah, yes… Italy… go right ahead, because, as you say, Italy.