Saturday, June 21, 2014

Saturday, June 21, 2014, Brad Wilber and Byron Walden

0:44:39

Quite an enjoyable Saturday puzzle. I got very little on my first pass - I remember KAYAK (27A: Travelocity competitor), ANTHRACITE (28D: Stone coal), and TAUTEST (58A: Furthest stretched) going in right away. I considered TOLEDAN (34A: El Greco, after age 36), but didn't like it well enough to enter it until I was forced to. I also hobbled Frannie with such errors as "foreigners" for OUTLANDERS (4D: Xenophobe's bane), "Titan" for DIONE (44A: Moon of Saturn), and "prime" for CPLUS (18D: 79, say) (very nice). But she was unfazed. When I got it back, all of the bottom was done, and there was a lot to grab onto up top. Ahem.

Lot's of great, tricky cluing. 9D: One given to brooding (HEN), 13D: Spots likely to smear (ATTACKADS), 17A: Edible in a cone (PINENUT), and 33D: Dennis in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," e.g. (SERF), to name but four.

Two interesting new facts in the NW today, the first of which (the less interesting) being that TADLINCOLN was the 18A: Onetime White House resident with a cleft palate. The second, that Sam SNEAD was the 21A: Only man ever to win an L.P.G.A. Tour Tournament (1962). I read that he also entered the tournament in 1961, but lost to Louise Suggs. I thought that maybe he was also the only man to have lost an L.P.G.A. tournament, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Other men were, apparently, entered in the 1961 tournament. Very interesting. Oh, and I didn't know CHEROOT (15A: Cigar with clipped ends) either, but that's the least interesting of the three.

Loved CABOOSE (1A: Keister) starting things off (although it was almost the last thing entered), and overall, there was little to dislike.

A fine Saturday.

- Horace


p.s. I almost forgot to mention that we were driving along the banks of the ISERE just the other day!

4 comments:

  1. Untimed. I figured you might have been on the ISERE (is it also sometimes spelled Ysere, or is that another thing entirely?). This is a beautiful puzzle. I particularly liked the NE corner, which might be darn near perfect (if you don't mind CDC). The trio of SONGCYCLE (!), TOURDATES, and ATTACKADS is marvelous. PINENUT and SANCTA are also nice.

    I worked my way through the clues, and the first one I entered, triumphantly, I might add, was CEL, the very last down clue. I stared at COAX for a long time, trying to figure out if it was a brand name for some kind of liquid soap (Co-ax?), before realizing the other meaning of "soft soap". Duh. Or should I say D'oh? I also had "part" for SERF, as in a role in the movie, thinking back to 1D (CASTS).

    I love STALINERA (I wanted something about "stalag" or "gulag" but this is a great answer also), as well as HOVEROVER (nice repeat of those last four letters). I hate ELEARNING, or any word that is remade by putting "e" in front of it to make it about the Interwebz. I too wanted "foreigners" for OUTLANDERS.

    Great Saturday!

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  2. Funny you should mention the YSER, Colum, because we crossed that one even more recently when we were driving around near Dunkirk and Calais. It's been a very crosswordy trip!

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  3. 33:08
    The first thing I entered in the grid was ELEARNING, but I'm absolutely with Colum on its use. I suppose at least it got the grid off to a quick start with that whole SW corner falling into place. Contrary to Colum's assessment, on the other hand, we were not fond of STALINERA. Anne, who studied Eastern European history, doesn't think that works. Funny to me how TADLINCOLN and SNEAD came easy. Those unless pieces of trivia that are apparently way back in amongst my gray matter. I'll admit I didn't know those off the top of my head, but they were in there somewhere. I was not familiar with the Handy BLUES festival.

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