On this my first day of jury duty in the County of Albany, New York, I am greeted at 1A with JAILS and at 18D with LSATS. I am in tune with the universe.
If only I was in tune with the rest of this puzzle. So the theme appears to be answers with three Ls in a row, split across two words. It may bother some in the Solver's Universe that one of the answers has one L before the split whereas the other three have 2 Ls before the split. Not me. That doesn't bother me nearly so much as the "so what?' factor. I guess I'm looking for a unifying revealer. Otherwise it's just the weirdness of seeing three Ls in a row.
Otherwise, this puzzle feels old... so old, I'm going bullet style:
- LENNY Bruce - died 1966.
- Paul REISER - Mad About You went off air in 1999.
- EMMETT Kelly (1989-1979).
- Better Than EZRA (last album in 2005).
- ESAU (Old Testament figure).
You get the picture. Not to mention MELLLAZARUS - Momma cartoonist? I mean, apparently it's still going (the gentleman was born in 1927, which makes him 88 this year), but I haven't read the comics in years and when I did, Momma wasn't there, let me tell you.
EXPLODED makes a nice counterpart to FLEETING, and any reference to Ogden Nash (even if he is very old) is welcome in my book.
There, I said something nice, so let's end the review there.
- Colum
8:02
ReplyDeleteI thought this an appropriate-difficulty Monday puzzle, and I liked the three L theme, although I required all of the crosses for MELLLAZARUS; I've heard of "Momma" but my paper doesn't run it. I read the comics daily. PHIAL is always nice, as is the previously-mentioned Nash quote. Also, I liked the pairing of ECHOS and YODEL (that's not too much of a stretch, is it?). I don't know...I come down as a positive for today's offering.
9:45
ReplyDeleteIf not for the theme, I might never have gotten that middle L in the MELLLAZARUS clue. Who?
I agree that the puzzle felt a little old. And I actually thought it played pretty tough for a Monday - not that I'm complaining about that. And I like Huygens' pairing of ECHOS and YODEL, but I'm afraid I side with Colum on this one. Meh.