0:10:48
Is a FLIPPHONE (*28A: Samsung or LG product) still a thing? I mean, I still use one (from Motorola) that I bought in 2007, or possibly before, but I thought everything today was an iPhone or an iPhone knockoff. Oh… why do I bother asking? I don't really care.
This is a known theme, and, aside from the possible antiquity of "FLIPPHONE," it's done pretty well. "BOOK" can be added to each part of the compounds in the compound word theme answers. "Flip book." "Phone book." Come to think of it, "phonebook" itself is outdated now, isn't it?
Almost everywhere you look you get a little crosswordese. AMAT (14A: Amo, amas, ____ …) up in the NW, SLO (10D: _____-mo) in the N, SAS (11A: Carrier in the Star Alliance) in the NE, and then you come to my current "least favorite" ATTA (24D: Lead-in to girl) in the W. I am so tired of ATTA.
I will give Mr. Tuttle credit for including quite a bit of theme material today, including a couple of verticals, which, as you heard yesterday, I like. BABYBLUE (3D: *Like many a heartthrob's eyes) might be my favorite themer, actually.
DOSSIER (32A: F.B.I. file, e.g.), PRORATE (42D: Divide appropriately), and ASCENT (12D: Mountain climber's climb) are all interesting words, and not the usual crossword fare, but overall, this had a bit to much OON, INRE, and RTS, for me. Not ADOG, but not great.
- Horace
17:33
ReplyDeleteI also use a FLIPPHONE, but what else would one expect of a 17th century mathematician? I loved DOSSIER, a word that's not often heard. YEGG hasn't been seen in awhile, so its inclusion was OK IMO even though it can be overused at times. My least favorite theme answer was MATCHPLAY. I suppose that ET59 knew 7D Baseball great Buck (ONEIL) immediately, but I required all but one of the crosses to get it. The south had me flummoxed briefly since I entered virus instead of POLIO for 48D Vaccine target and needed to fix that up before I could get some of the crosses, but all-in-all this was an appropriately challenging Tuesday.
6:39. Another throwback (Throwback Tuesday?). It's a fine puzzle overall, although I agree the theme has definitely been done to death over the years. DANIEL Radcliffe is the only clue I found that requires knowledge of anything in the 21st century. Although I suppose FLIPPHONES are for the most part 21st c. They just feel outdated. That being said, I have no real complaints. Just a wish for something more pertinent to the day.
ReplyDelete8:44. In a word, lacking luster. I'm not even sure I like the theme. To me, BOOKEND implies that these words go after "book" to form a compound word, not before "book." Maybe that's nitpicking. Yes, DOSSIER (like the one the Nazis have on Rick Blaine), PRORATE, and ASCENT are nice. I also like PARCEL, and I think MERRIER has by far the best clue (Actually, on second thought, the clue for MASSE isn't half-bad either). Agree about ATTA. That should be banned for a year; then, when everybody realizes that it hasn't been missed, sent out to pasture for good. Colm, how can you say there's nothing modern? How about the delightful MYOB and OMG?? Shirley, I jest. But, geez, don't you and the family play SKAT most weekend evenings (before you read the kids "Little Women" for a bedtime story--or "Bambi")? Isn't the POLIO vaccine a hot topic at the hospital water cooler? Referring to someone as Kemo SABE is still hip, with it, and wow, isn't it? But, yes, Huyggy, I did get ONEIL with just the O from ALOHAS. I got OSU with no downs, of course, too. Is calling Buck O'Neil a baseball "great" a bit of a stretch, or not? Great baseball personality might be more accurate. He was no Josh Gibson, that's for sure. Here's hoping for a better tomorrow. I want to be entertained, damn it.
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